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to 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


THE 


HISTORY 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


VOL.   I. 


THE 


HISTORY 


OF 


HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


BY   JOSIAH    aUINCY,   LL.D., 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY. 

VOLUME  I. 


BOSTON: 
CROSBY,    NICHOLS,   LEE,    &    CO., 

117  WASHINGTON  STKEET. 
1860. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOWS  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE, 
in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


University  Press,  Cambridge : 
1'rinted  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  and  Company. 


College 
Library 


LD 
3i\53i 


v. 


TO 


THE  ALUMNI  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY 


THIS  WORK  IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 


THE  AUTHOR. 


>        io  CK  . 
<^ 


PREFACE. 


THIS  History  had  its  origin  in  the  following 
circumstances.  In  March,  1836,  the  Author 
accepted  an  invitation  from  the  Corporation 
of  Harvard  University,  to  prepare,  as  President 
of  the  institution,  a  discourse,  to  be  delivered 
on  the  second  centennial  anniversary  of  its 
foundation,  in  commemoration  of  that  event, 
and  of  the  founders  and  patrons  of  the  semina- 
ry. From  the  researches,  into  which  he  was 
led  by  this  undertaking,  it  became  apparent 
that  these  topics  could  not  be  satisfactorily  in- 
vestigated before  the  day  fixed  upon  for  the 
celebration.  The  Author,  therefore,  decided  to 
prepare  such  a  general  sketch  of  events  and 
characters  as  might  be  comprised  within  the 
limits  of  an  occasional  address,  and  to  an- 
nounce his  intention  of  attempting  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  subject  in  a  work  of  a  more  en- 
larged form  and  permanent  character. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

Various  considerations  concurred  to  pro- 
duce this  determination.  Many  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  foundation  of  the  Col- 
lege, and  much  of  its  subsequent  history,  the 
lapse  of  time  had  already  involved  in  obscuri- 
ty. Important  public  documents  were  lost. 
Some  of  the  early  records  of  the  institution 
had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  Those  which  re- 
mained were  contained  in  two  or  three  decay- 
ing volumes,  the  loss  of  which  would  render 
it  impossible  to  trace  consecutively  the  events 
of  its  early  history.  In  1809,  the  importance 
of  such  a  work  was  perceived,  and  its  immedi- 
ate preparation  was  urged  on  the  sons  of  the 
College,  by  Buckminster,  as  ripe  a  scholar,  and 
a  genius  "touched  to  as  fine  issues,"  as  any 
one  who  was  ever  graduated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege;  on  the  ground  that,  if  delayed,  "  it  would 
soon  become  impracticable."  *  For  nearly  thir- 
ty years  a  vote  of  the  Corporation,  requesting 
the  President  to  prepare  a  History  of  the  Uni- 
versity, had  stood  upon  the  records  of  that 
board,  and  the  execution  of  such  a  work  had 
long  been  an  object  of  desire  among  the  friends 
of  the  institution.  The  laborious  zeal  of  the 
late  Benjamin  Peirce,  Librarian  of  the  semin- 
ary, had  indeed  eventuated  in  a  publication  of 


*  See  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  Alumni  of  the  University,  in  an  ad- 
dress "on  the  Dangers  and  Duties  of  Men  of  Letters,"  pronounced  be- 
fore the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  by  J.  S.  Buckminster,  and  published  in 
the  "Monthly  Anthology"  for  September,  1809. 


PREFACE.  ix 

great  merit  and  usefulness,  possessing  the  traits 
of  that  soundness  of  judgment  and  accuracy  of 
investigation  so  eminently  his  characteristics. 
But  his  History  of  the  University  being  left  in- 
complete *  by  his  death,  the  interesting  infor- 
mation and  valuable  materials  he  had  collect- 
ed with  great  industry  and  research,  although 
in  many  respects  thoroughly  wrought  and  fully 
developed,  yet  in  others  were  only  partially 
prepared,  and  in  a  state  to  excite  rather  than 
to  satisfy  curiosity. 

A  knowledge  of  facts  could  now  be  obtained, 
which  might  soon  be  lost,  concerning  founders, 
patrons,  and  officers  of  the  institution,  whose 
wisdom  and  exertions  had  contributed  to  its 
character,  its  success,  and  even  to  the  continu- 
ance of  its  existence.  To  rescue  these  facts 
from  oblivion  was  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  a 
solemn  duty,  —  a  duty,  which  the  Author,  re- 
flecting upon  his  relation  to  the  seminary,  and 
upon  the  circumstances  which  had  led  him  to 
researches  subsidiary  to  such  a  design,  deemed 
to  be  upon  him  imperative.  To  render  an  ap- 
propriate and  just  tribute  to  the  merits,  suffer- 
ings, and  sacrifices  of  these  founders,  patrons, 
and  officers,  was  the  conclusive  motive  to  this 
undertaking ;  and,  since  no  duty  is  more  in- 
cumbent upon  seminaries  of  learning,  than 
the  commemoration  of  the  virtues  and  labors, 


*  See  the  Editor's  preface  to  Mr.  Peirce's  History  of  the  University. 
VOL.    I.  b 


PREFACE. 


which  have  contributed  to  their  existence  and 
prosperity,  a  greater  extension  has  been  given 
to  the  biographical  notices  in  this  work,  than 
is  usual  in  a  general  history. 

Every  effort  has  been  made  to  render  the 
work  complete,  exact,  and  worthy  of  the  insti- 
tution it  was  designed  to  illustrate.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  archives  of  the  College,  and  those 
of  the  Colony  and  State  of  Massachusetts,  the 
use  of  the  books  and  manuscripts  belonging 
to  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  and  to 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society  has  been 
liberally  afforded  to  the  Author.  Many  an- 
cient papers  and  manuscripts  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  his  inspection  by  those  individuals  in 
whose  hands  they  now  rest.  The  thread  of 
the  narrative  has,  however,  been  chiefly  drawn 
from  the  records  of  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seers ;  and  no  fact  deemed  generally  impor- 
tant and  interesting,  which  they  contain,  has 
been  intentionally  omitted.  When  views  con- 
cerning motives,  characters,  and  events,  are 
expressed,  differing  from  those  generally  en- 
tertained, the  original  documents  from  which 
they  result  are  invariably  annexed.  The  de- 
sire to  place  these  authorities  in  the  hands  of 
the  public,  and  to  preserve  from  loss  original 
papers,  illustrative  of  the  manners  and  char- 
acters of  a  former  age,  has  led  to  an  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Appendix  to  each  volume  far  be- 
yond the  original  design. 


PREFACE. 


To  render  the  history  more  complete  and 
useful,  the  outline  of  events  has  been  brought 
down  to  the  present  day  ;  but  a  particular  no- 
tice of  living  characters  has  been  avoided,  ex- 
cept in  cases  where  gratitude  demanded  a  trib- 
ute to  the  bounty  or  extraordinary  services  of 
individuals  ;  and  in  such  cases  it  is  confined  to 
the  language  of  records  or  public  documents. 
A  similar  course  has  been  pursued  in  respect 
to  the  narrative  of  contemporaneous  events, 
which  has  been  restricted  to  facts  deemed 
necessary  or  important  to  be  known. 

A  History  of  Harvard  University,  written  by 
the  President  of  the  institution,  and  published 
with  the  sanction  of  the  Corporation,  may  be 
regarded  by  the  public  as  rendering  the  Col- 
lege or  the  Corporation  responsible  for  the 
views  and  sentiments  it  contains.  The  Author 
of  this  work,  therefore,  deems  it  his  duty  ex- 
plicitly to  state,  that  the  narrative  of  facts  and 
circumstances  here  given  is  exclusively  the 
result  of  his  own  research  and  selection,  and 
that,  for  the  views  and  opinions  it  expresses, 
he  is  alone  responsible. 

In  collecting  materials  for  this  work,  and 
particularly  those  relating  to  the  lives  of  bene- 
factors and  patrons  of  the  institution,  the  obli- 
gations of  the  Author  to  individuals  have  been 
too  numerous  to  be  specially  acknowledged. 
His  thanks,  however,  are  particularly  due  to 
the  following  gentlemen,  for  important  docu- 


PREFACE. 


ments,  or  aid  :  to  Benjamin  Peirce,  Profes- 
sor of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  in 
the  University,  for  placing  at  his  disposal  a 
collection  of  papers  made  by  his  late  father  ;  to 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Sewall  of  Burlington,  for  per- 
mitting the  free  use  of  the  curious  and  graphic 
diaries  of  his  ancestor,  the  Hon.  Chief  Justice 
Sewall  ;  to  John  Belknap,  Esq.,  for  a  like  per- 
mission to  use  a  manuscript  collection,  made 
by  his  father,  the  late  Rev.  Jeremy  Belknap, 
D.  D.  To  the  Hon.  John  Davis,  James  Sav- 
age, Nathaniel  G.  Snelling,  the  late  and  la- 
mented John  Farmer,  and  Alden  Bradford, 
Esquires,  and  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Felt, 
the  Author  is  under  obligations  for  occasional 
assistance  in  difficulties,  which  their  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  early  history  of  Massa- 
chusetts peculiarly  qualified  them  to  resolve. 
The  benefit  which  all  works  printed  at  the 
University  press  derive  from  the  taste,  judg- 
ment, and  assiduous  fidelity  of  its  superinten- 
dent, Charles  Folsom,  Esq.,  is  too  generally 
known  and  appreciated  to  need  to  be  here 
acknowledged.  But  that  gentleman's  long 
and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  concerns 
of  the  University,  and  the  deep  interest  he 
takes  in  every  thing  affecting  its  character 
and  prosperity,  have  led  him  to  bestow  on  the 
details  of  this  work  an  earnest  attention  and 
solicitude,  which  have  largely  contributed  to 
its  correctness,  and  created  a  sense  of  obliga- 


PREFACE. 


tion,  which  it  is  not  less  the  Author's  pleasure 
than  his  duty  to  express. 

This  work,  having  been  prepared  without 
any  view  to  personal  emolument,  was,  when 
completed,  offered  to  the  Corporation,  who  ac- 
cepted it,  resolved  to  publish  it  by  subscription, 
and  appropriate  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  to  the 
increase  of  the  beneficiary  fund  of  the  College. 

When  apprized  of  this  intention,  the  pub- 
lisher, John  Owen,  Esq.,  in  a  spirit  of  liberali- 
ty and  zeal  for  the  interests  of  the  institution, 
voluntarily  relinquished  all  compensation  for 
his  services,  and  thus  secured  the  entire  net 
proceeds  of  the  work  to  be  devoted  to  assist 
indigent  students  in  the  University. 

The  sketch  of  "  Gore  Hall,"  which  forms 
the  frontispiece  to  the  second  volume,  was 
kindly  contributed  by  Mr.  Richard  Bond,  the 
architect  of  the  building.*  And  the  account  of 
the  Centennial  Celebration  was  prepared,  and 
the  proceedings  and  speeches  on  the  occasion 
were  collected,  and  chiefly  arranged,  by  a 
Committee  appointed  by  the  alumni. 

To  his  eldest  daughter  (Eliza  S.  Quincy), 
the  Author  is  indebted  for  the  design  and  origi- 
nal sketch  of  the  frontispiece  to  the  first  vol- 
ume, and  also  for  the  original  sketches  of  all 
the  vignettes,  with  the  exception  of  the  first 


*  The  engravings  on  steel  in  this  work  were  executed  by  Mr.  George 
C.  Smith,  of  Boston.  Those  on  wood,  excepting  the  Pavilion,  by  Mr.  J. 
A.  Adams,  of  New  York. 


XIV  PREFACE. 

three  College  Halls,  (which  are  reduced  copies 
from  an  ancient  engraving,)  the  Medical  Col- 
lege, and  the  Pavilion.  The  labor  of  prepar- 
ing the  Index  was  voluntarily  assumed  by  her, 
and  has  been  executed  with  fidelity  and  exact- 
ness. Indeed,  the  work  itself,  in  its  progress 
through  the  press,  owes  to  her  continued  vigi- 
lance, much  of  the  accuracy,  which  it  is  hoped 
will  be  found  in  it,  and  which,  from  the  multi- 
plicity of  its  details,  and  the  constant  pressure 
of  official  duties,  it  would  have  been  scarce- 
ly possible  for  the  Author  otherwise  to  have 
attained. 

NOVEMBER  30th,  1840. 


CONTENTS 


OF 


VOLUME    FIRST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

Centennial  Celebration  in  183G.  —  Origin  and  Design  of  this  Histo- 
ry.—  Vote  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1636. 

—  Bequest  of  John  Harvard.  —  His  Name  conferred  on  the  Sem- 
inary. —  Early  Donations.  —  Nathaniel   Eaton.  —  Henry   Dunster 
elected  first  President.  —  His  Administration.  —  Charters  of  1642 
and  1650.  —  Contributions  of  the  Colonies.  —  Resignation  of  Pres- 
ident Dunster.  —  His  Death.  —  State  of  the  Finances  of  the  Col- 
lege   1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Presidency  of  Charles  Chauncy.  —  Previous  Events  of  his  Life.  — 
Accepts  the  Office  on  the  Importunity  of  the  General  Court.  — 
Their  Promises  of  Support.  —  Not  fulfilled.  —  His  Poverty.  —  Em- 
barrassed State  of  the  Finances  of  the  Seminary. — Ruinous  State 
of  its  Buildings. — Noble  Conduct  of  the  Town  of  Portsmouth. — 
Its  Effects  on  Massachusetts.  —  Leonard  Hoar  chosen  President.  — 
His  previous  History.  —  Circumstances  under  which  he  was  elected. 

—  Charter  of  1672.  — Its  Fate.  — President  Hoar's  Difficulties.— 
Conduct  of  Oakes  in  respect  to  them. —  Parallelism  of  the  For- 
tunes of  Hoar  and  Oakes.  —  Hoar  resigns.  —  Urian  Oakes  chosen 
President.  —  His  Conduct. —  Difficulty  in  filling  President's  Chair. 

—  Patronage  of  the  General  Court.  24 

CHAPTER  III. 

Influence  of  the  Clergy  on  the  College.  —  Its  catholic  Spirit. — 
Causes  of  this  traced  to  the  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Constitution 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

of  the  Colony.  —  State  of  Religious  Parties,  and  their  Effect.  — 
Influence  of  Increase  and  Cotton  Mather  on  the  College  and  the 
Colony. —  The  Administration  of  Andros,  and  its  Effect.  —  Presi- 
dent Mather's  Agency  in  England. —  His  Influence  in  procuring 
the  Charter  of  the  Colony  in  1692,  and  in  the  Appointments  under 
it.  —  The  Witchcraft  Delusion.  —  The  College  connected  with  it 
by  the  Mathers. —  State  of  Parties,  which  arose  in  Consequence 
of  that  Charter 44 

CHAPTER  IV. 

College  Charter  of  1692.  — Its  History  and  Results.  — Rev.  Charles 
Morton.  —  Degrees  of  Doctor  in  Divinity  and  Bachelor  of  Laws 
first  conferred.  —  The  General  Court  vote,  that  President  Mather 
shall  reside  at  Cambridge.  —  His  consequent  Conduct. —  College 
Charter  negatived  by  the  King.  —  President  Mather's  Desire  of  an 
Agency  in  England.  —  Origin  and  Motive  of  that  Desire. —  Em- 
barrassments of  the  College,  and  Settlement  of  it  by  Stoughton.  68 

CHAPTER  V. 

College  Charter  of  1696.  —  President  Mather  discontented  with  it. — 
Takes  it  into  a  ne\v  Draft. —  The  Corporation  ask  the  General 
Court,  that  he  be  sent  as  Agent  to  England. — Governor  Bellamont 
arrives  in  New  York.  —  The  Corporation  address  him.  —  Second 
Application  of  the  Corporation,  that  the  President  obtain  an  Agen- 
cy.—  Its  Failure.  — Project  of  a  Vice-Presidency.  —  Its  Failure.  — 
The  General  Court  again  vote,  that  President  Mather  should  re- 
side at  Cambridge.  —  Proceedings  on  that  Vote,  and  its  Result. — 
Arrival  of  Governor  Bellamont  in  Massachusetts.  —  College  Char- 
ter of  1699.  —  Interference  of  the  Clergy.  —  Governor  Bellamont 
objects  to  the  Charter,  and  it  is  lost.  —  Cotton  Mather's  Disap- 
pointment. .  84 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Temporary  Settlement  of  the  College.  —  Dissatisfaction  of  John 
Leverett.  —  Governor  Bellamont  recommends  an  Application  to  the 
King  for  a  Charter.  —  Proceedings  of  the  General  Court  thereon. 

—  Features  of  the  New  Charter.  —  John  Leverett  and  both  the 
Brattles  excluded  from  the  Corporation.  —  Agency  given  to  Gov- 
ernor Bellamont.  —  Disappointment  of  the  Mathers.  —  The  General 
Court  renew  their  Vote  for  the  Residency  of  the  President  at  Cam- 
bridge. —  President  Mather  removes,  but  soon  returns  to  Boston. 

—  His  Letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton. — The  General 
Court  negotiate  with  Mr.  Willard.  —  Proceedings  in  this  Negotia- 
tion.—Exclusion  of  President  Mather.  .     103 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Sectarian  Controversies.  —  Attempts  to  remove  John  Leverett  and 
Thomas  Brattle  from  the  Corporation  traced  to  them.  —  President 
Mather's  Epistle  Dedicatory  to  his  Son's  Life  of  Mitchell.  —  Its 
Effects.  —  Foundation  of  Brattle-Street  Church.  —  Connexion  with 
it  of  Leverett  and  Brattle.  —  Conduct  of  the  Mathers  in  respect  to 
it.  —  Interference  of  Lieutenant-Govemor  Stoughton. —  Reconcili- 
ation of  the  Mathers  with  Colman.  —  Dedication  of  Brattle-Street 
Church.  —  The  Mathers  renew  the  Controversy.  —  Its  Spirit  and 
Consequences 127 

CHAPTER  Vm. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Willard  accepts  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  Col- 
lege. —  His  Character  and  that  of  Increase  Mather  compared.  — 
Motives  for  Willard's  Appointment.  — Governor  Dudley's  Arrival. — 
His  Message  concerning  the  College.  —  Willard's  Differences  with 
Mather.  —  The  Brattles  reinstated  in  the  Corporation. —  The  Ma- 
thers court  Dudley.  —  Final  Attempt  to  obtain  a  Charter  from  the 
Crown.  —  Its  Failure.  —  Death  of  Vice-President  Willard.  —  Elec- 
tion of  John  Leverett.  —  Conduct  of  a  Part  of  the  Clergy  on  the 
Occasion.  —  Act  fo  the  House  of  Representatives,  reviving  the  an- 
cient Charter  of  the  College,  approved  by  Dudley.  —  Responsibility 
of  the  Act.  —  Its  happy  Consequences.  .  .  .  .  .  145 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Retrospective  View  of  the  Benefactors  of  the  College,  during  the 
Seventeenth  Century. — John  Winthrop.  —  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall 
and  his  Son. —  Robert  Keayne.  —  Edward  Hopkins.  —  Israel 
Stoughton.  —  William  Stoughton.  —  Henry  Webb.  —  William 
Brown.  —  John  Bulkley.  —  Lady  Moulson.  —  Sir  Matthew  Holwor- 
thy.  —  Theophilus  Gale. —  William  Pennoyer.  —  Robert  Thorner. 
—  Joseph  Glover.  —  College  Printing-Press.  —  Course  of  Studies 
and  literary  State  of  the  College  during  this  Century.  .  .  162 

CHAPTER  X. 

Retrospect  of  political  and  religious  Parties.  —  Their  Relation  to  the 
College.  — "  School  of  the  Church"  established  at  New  Haven. — 
Charter  drafted  by  Sewall  and  Addington.  —  Views  of  Governor 
Dudley,  in  filling  up  the  Corporation. —  Disappointment  of  the 
Mathers.  —  Their  Letters  to  Governor  Dudley. — Vigorous  Admin- 
istration of  Leverett.  —  Recovers  the  Legacy  of  Hopkins,  and  of 
Lady  Moulson.  —  Death  of  Hobart.  —  Wadsworth  elected  Fellow 
of  the  Corporation.  —  Death  of  Treasurer  Brattle.  —  John  White 
elected  Treasurer.  —  Death  of  the  Rev.  William  Brattle  and  the 

VOL.    I.  C 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

Rev.  Ebenezer  Pemberton.  —  Election  of  Benjamin  Colman  and 
Nathaniel  Appleton  as  Fellows 195 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Indications  of  a  Design  to  embarrass  the  Corporation.  —  Pierpont 
refused  a  Degree  by  President  Leverett  —  Appeals  to  the  Corpora- 
tion, who  confirm  Leverett's  Decision .  —  Pierpont  prosecutes  a  Tu- 
tor at  Common  Law.  —  The  Case  brought  before  the  Overseers. 

—  The  Dudleys  support  Pierpont  —  Conduct  of  Paul  Dudley  on 
the  Occasion.  —  Pierpont's  Case  dismissed  by  the  Courts  of  Law. 
— Judge  Se wall's  Attack  on  President  Leverett  before  the  Over- 
seers. —  Supported  by  Paul  Dudley.  —  Leverett's  and  Sewall's 
respective  Accounts  of  that  Affair.  —  Cotton  Mather's  Animosity 
to  the  Corporation.  —  His  Letter  to  Governor  Shute  in  Favor  of 
Pierpont.  —  His  Zeal  in  Favor  of  the  College  at  New  Haven.      .    213 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Benefactions  of  Thomas  Hollis.'  —  Their  Origin,  Motive,  and  Extent. 

—  His  elevated  Catholicism.  —  Reasons  for  examining  a  Part  of 
his  Bounties  with  Minuteness.  —  Pretensions  of  Increase  Mather  in 
Relation  to  them  examined.  —  Commencement  of  his  Donations. — 
Origin  and  first  Form  of  his  Professorship  of  Divinity.  —  Accepted 
and    acted    upon    by   the   Corporation.  —  Edward  Wigglesworth 
chosen  Professor.  —  New  England  Scheme  of  the  Professorship 
of  Divinity  transmitted  to  Mr.  Hollis. — How  modified  by  him. — 
Proceedings  of  the  Overseers.  —  Debates  on  the  amended  Scheme. 

—  Opposition  of  Chief  Justice  Sewall.  —  New  Amendments  pro- 
posed. —  The  Corporation  choose  Wigglesworth  a   second  Time. 

—  His  Orthodoxy,  how  tested. —  Discrepancy  of  the  Test  with  the 
Statutes  of  Hollis.  —  A  written  Obligation  to  conform  to  his  Stat- 
utes demanded  of  the  Corporation  by  Hollis.  —  They  hesitate  about 
transmitting  it. —  Patience  of  Hollis  exhausted. — He  peremptorily 
demands  it  —  A  written  Obligation  transmitted.  —  Liberal  Char- 
acter of  Hollis  vindicated.     .  230 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Tutors  Sever  and  Welsteed  claim  Seats  at  the  Board  of  Corporation 
by  Virtue  of  the  Term  "  Fellows."  —  The  Overseers  appoint  a 
Committee  on  the  Subject.  —  Origin  of  the  Term  "Fellows"  in  the 
College.  —  History  of  its  Introduction  and  Use  traced  through  the 
College  Records.  — "Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  when  first  used. 

—  "Fellow  of  the   House,"  when  introduced,  and   how  used. — 
Distinction  instituted  between  them.  —  Tenure  of  Tutor's  Office 
limited  to  three  Years. —  Sever  and  Welsteed  each  elected  a  Fel- 
low of  the  House  under  that  Limitation.  —  State  of  Parties  when 


CONTENTS. 

their  claim  to  a  Seat  at  the  Board  of  Corporation  was  introduced. 

—  Treatment  of  President  Leverett  by  the  General  Court.         .    265 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Proceedings  of  the  Overseers  on  Sever  and  Welsteed's  Memorial. 

—  The  Rev.  Joseph  Sewall  chosen  Fellow  of  the  Corporation. — 
Overseers  do  not  approve  this  Choice,  and  recommend  the  Elec- 
tion of  a  Resident  Fellow.  —  Corporation  choose  Tutor  Robie.  — 
Overseers  postpone  their  Approval  of  this  Choice.  —  Corporation 
declare  Sever  no  longer  Fellow  of  the  House.  —  Overseers  declare 
him  still  to  be  Fellow  of  the  House. —  Corporation  reinstate  Sever. 

—  Overseers  apply  to  the  General  Court  to  enlarge  the  Corporation. 

—  General  Court  refuse,  but  resolve  that  Fellows  of  the  Corpora- 
tion   shall    be   resident  Fellows.  —  Governor  Shute  conditionally 
consents.  —  House  of  Representatives  request  him  to  make  his 
Consent  absolute. — Shute  refuses.  —  A  fifth  Tutor  chosen  by  the 
Corporation.  —  Negatived  by  the  Overseers,  who  approve  the  Elec- 
tion of  Robie  and  negative  the  Limitation  of  a  Tutor's  Office  to 
three  Years.  —  House  of  Representatives  revive  their  Resolve,  and 
intimate  that  the  Corporation  have  not  kept  within  their  Charter. 

—  Corporation  claim  a  Hearing.  —  Denied  by  the  General  Court. 

—  Attempt  to   make    Members  of  the  Corporation  resign.  —  Its 
Failure.  —  Professor  Wigglesworth  chosen  Fellow  of  the  Corpora- 
tion.—  Negatived  by  the  Overseers.  —  House  of  Representatives 
again  revive  their  Resolve.  —  The  Council  give  a  Hearing  to  the 
Corporation.  —  Final  Defeat  of  the  Project  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. —  Tribute  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Corporation.        .        .    289 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Increasing  Influence  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  —  Alarm  of  the  Con- 
gregationalists.  —  Relations  of  the  College  to  both.  —  Discontent 
with  the  general  State  of  the  College. — Visiting  Committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Overseers.  —  Their  Report.  —  Its  Result.  —  Death 
of  President  Leverett  —  Professor  Wigglesworth  approved  by  the 
Overseers  as  Fellow  of  the  Corporation.  —  Review  of  the  Admin- 
istration of  Leverett.  —  The  Deficiency  of  his  Salary  for  his  Sup- 
port. —  Application  to  the  General  Court  for  the  Relief  of  his 
Family.  — Its  Result 314 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Difficulties  attending  the  Selection  of  a  President.  —  Cotton  Mather, 
Wadsworth,  Colman,  and  Joseph  Sewall,  Candidates.  —  Election 
of  Sewall.  —  Dissatisfaction  of  Cotton  Mather. —  Sewall  declines 
the  Appointment  —  Election  of  Colman.  —  Overseers  apply  to  the 
General  Court  for  a  sufficient  Salary  for  him — Vote  of  the  House 


XX  CONTENTS. 

of  Representatives  on  the  Application. —  Colman  makes  a  fixed 
Salary  the  Condition  of  his  Acceptance.  —  House  of  Representa- 
tives refuse  it.  —  Colman  declines  the  Presidency.  —  Wadsworth 
chosen  President.  —  Accepts.  —  General  Court  grant  a  Salary. 

—  Cotton  Mather  attacks  the  Character  of  Leverett. —  Compari- 
son of  the  Lives  of  Mather  and  Leverett 328 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Change  in  the  political  Relations  of  Massachusetts. — Its  Effects  on 
the  College.  — Nicholas  Sever  elected  Fellow  of  the  Corporation. 

—  English  Crown  and  Hierarchy  patronize  the  Episcopal  Church. 

—  Its  Clergy  claim  Seats  at  the  Board  of  Overseers.  —  Alarm  of 
the  Congregational  Church  at  the  Progress  of  Episcopacy.  —  Origin 
of  the  Puritans.  —  Spirit  and  Policy  of  the  first  Emigrants  to  New 
England.  —  Edmund  Randolph. founds  the  first  Episcopal  Society 
in  New  England.  —  Arrival  of  Edmund  Andros.  —  His  violent 
Seizure  of  the  South  Church  for  Episcopal  Worship. —  Progress  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  after  the  Revolution  of  1688. — "  Society  for 
propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts "  estahlished  in  its  Aid. 

—  Mr.  Colman's  Correspondence  with  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough 
on  the  Proceedings  of  that  Society.  —  Timothy  Cutler,  Rector  of 
Yale  College,  and  Six  other  Clergymen  of  Connecticut,  converted 
to  Episcopalianism.  —  Honors  and  Rewards  bestowed  on  Cutler  in 
England.  —  He  is  chosen  Rector  of  King's  Chapel  in  Boston. — 
Claims  a  Seat  atlhe  Board  of  Overseers.  — Grounds  of  his  Claim. 

—  Rejected  by  the  Overseers.  —  He  appeals  to  the  General  Court. 

—  Overseers  reply  to  his  Appeal,  which  is  rejected  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  —  He  renews  his  Claim  before  the  Overseers.  —  Final 
Rejection  of  it  by  that  Board 348 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Wadsworth  inaugurated.  —  General  Court  establish  a  Salary,  and 
take  Measures  towards  building  a  House  for  the  President. — 
Thanks  of  the  Corporation.  —  Difficulties  of  President  Wadsworth. 

—  Application  of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court  for  Assist- 
ance.—  Rejected.  —  Address  of  the  Corporation  to  George  the 
Second  on  his  Accession. —  Disorders  at  the   College.  —  Com- 
mencements made  private.  —  Overseers  appoint  a  Committee  to 
examine  into  the  State  of  the  College. —  Their  Report.  —  Presi- 
dent and  Tutors  first  form  a  distinct  Board.  —  First  Code  of  Laws 
passed  according  to    existing    Forms.  —  Dancing  restrained.  — 
Longloissorie   prohibited  teaching  French.  —  A  Tutor  refuses  to 
be  examined  concerning  his  Religious  Opinions.  —  Proceedings  of 
the  Overseers.  —  Public  Commencements  renewed.  —  Hartshorn 
denied  a  Degree.  — He  appeals  to  the  Overseers.  —  Their  Conduct 
in  Relation  to  it  —  Thomas  Hollis  founds  a  Professorship  of  Math- 


CONTENTS. 


XXI 


ematics  and  Natural  Philosophy.  —  State  of  the  College.  —  Cor- 
poration fail  in  their  Suit  for  Lands  at  Merriconeag.  —  Colman  re- 
signs his  Seat  in  the  Corporation.  —  Cotton's  Donation,  and  Col- 
man's  Conduct  in  relation  to  it.  —  Death  of  President  Wadsworth. 

—  His  Services  and  Character 377 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Benefactors  of  the  College.  —  John  Hull.—  Samuel  Sewall.  —  Rich- 
ard Sprague.  —  Thomas  Brattle.  —  William  Brattle.  —  William 
Brown.  —  Joseph  Brown,  William  Brown,  and  Benjamin  Brown. — 
Samuel  Brown.  —  John  and  William  Brown.  —  Edmund  Brown. — 
Gurdon  Saltonstall.  —  Mary  Saltonstall.  —  Dorothy  Saltonstall. — 
John  Frizell,  and  John  Frizell,  his  Nephew.  —  John  Walley. 

—  Ephraim  Flynt.  —  Henry  Gibbs.  —  Ezekiel  Rogers.  —  Thomas 
Cotton.  —  Thomas   Hollis.  —  John  Hollis. —  Nathaniel  Hollis. — 
Thomas  Hollis,  the  second  Benefactor  of  that  Name.  —  Exercises, 
Studies,  Discipline,  and  Customs  of  the  College,  during  the  Pres- 
idencies of  Leverett  and  Wadsworth.  .    405 


APPENDIX. 

I.    Early  Records  of  the  College.  —  Harvard's  Legacy.  .      449 
II.    Information  given  by  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  to 

the  General  Court,  9  May,  1655.            .           .  .      462 

III.  Answer  to  Mr.  Dunster's  Petition.        .            .            .  465 

IV.  President  Chauncy.    ......      466 

V.     Subscriptions  for  building  Harvard  Hall.          .            .  470 

VI.    President  Hoar  and  President  Oakes.         .            .  .      471 

VII.    Original  Grant  of  the  General  Court.               .            .  473 

VIII.     College  Seal. 474 

IX.     Extracts  from  President  Mather's  Diary.          .            .  475 

X.     Extracts  from  Cotton  Mather's  Diary.        .            .  .482 

XI.    Extracts  from  Judge  Sewall's  Diary.    ...  488 

XII.     Application  of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court.  .      495 

XIII.  Petition  of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court.       .  496 

XIV.  Memorial  of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court.  .      497 
XV.    Letter  of  President   Mather    to    Lieutenant- Governor 

Stoughton.               .            .            .            .            .  .499 

XVI.     Letter  from  John  Leverett  to  Isaac  Addington.           .  500 
XVII.    Letter   of  President    Mather    to    Lieutenant-Governor 

Stoughton.         ......  501 

XVIII.     Letter  of  John  Leverett  to  Benjamin  Colman.      .  502 

XIX.    Address  of  the  Corporation  to  Governor  Dudley.        .  503 

XX.    Address  of  Thirty-nine  Ministers  to  Governor  Dudley.  .      504 


XXII 


CONTENTS. 


XXI.     Leverett  Saltonstall.         ...  505 

XXIT.    John  Bulkley's  Deed  to  Harvard  College.  .  505 

XXIII.  Donations  to  the  College  during  the  Seventeenth  Century.        506 

XXIV.  Law   authorizing    Fines  and  Corporal    Punishment  in 

the  College 513 

XXV.     Cambridge  Town  Watch   authorized  to  exercise  their 

Powers  within  the  Precincts  of  the  College.  .  514 

XXVI.    College  Discipline  enforced  by  the  Civil  Authority.        .      515 
XXVII.    The  Laws,  Liberties,  and  Orders  of  Harvard  College 
confirmed  by  the  Overseers  and  President  of  the  Col- 
lege in  the  Years  1642,  1643,  1644,  1645,  and  1646, 
and  published  to  the  Scholars  for  the  perpetual  Pre- 
servation of  their  Welfare  and  Government.      .  .      515 
XXVIII.     Orders  agreed  upon  by  the  Overseers,  at  a  Meeting  in 

Harvard  College,  May  6th,  1650.  .  .  .517 

XXIX.    Letter  from  Messrs.  Sewall  and  Addington,  accompa- 
nying their  Draft  of  a  Charter  for  the  College  at  New 

Haven. 519 

XXX.     Governor  Dudley  and  Cotton  Mather.       .  .  .520 

XXXI.    Letter  of  the   Trustees  of  Edward  Hopkins's  Legacy 

to  the  Lord  Chancellor  Harcourt.  .  .  .      521 

XXXII.    Appointment  of  Mr.  White  as  Treasurer.         .  .  522 

XXXIII.  Governor  Shute.        .  .  .  .  .  .522 

XXXIV.  Letter  from  Cotton  Mather  to  Governor  Shute.          .  523 
XXXV.    Letter  from  Cotton  Mather  to  Elihu  Yale.             .            .      524 

XXXVI.    Letter  from  Cotton  Mather  to  Governor  Saltonstall.  .  526 

XXXVII.    Extracts  from  Letters  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin 

Colman  and  John  White.         ....  527 

XXXVIII.    Extract  from  a  Letter  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin 

Colman.  ......  528 

XXXIX.    Benefactors  of  the  Name  of  Hollis.  .  .  .529 

XL.    Letter  from  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin  Colman.       .  529 

XLI.    Letter  from  Thomas  Hollis  to  President  Leverett  and 

Benjamin  Colman.        .....  529 

XLII.    Hollis's  Orders .530 

XLIII.    Minutes  of  a  Letter  from  the  Corporation  to  Thomas 

Hollis 531 

XLIV.    Election  of  Professor  Wigglesworth.  .  .  .      533 

XLV.    Letter  from  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin  Colman.       .  533 

XLVI.     Rules  and  Orders  proposed  relating  to  a  Divinity  Pro- 
fessor in  Harvard  College  in  New  England.  .  534 
XLVII.    Form   for  the  Inauguration  of  the  Hollis  Professor  of 

Divinity.  .  .  .  .  .  .  537 


CONTENTS. 


XX111 


XLVIII.    Proceedings  of  the  Overseers  respecting  Hollis's  Rules 

and  Orders.        ......  538 

XLIX     Extract  from  a  Letter  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin 

Colman.  .  .  .  .  .  .  540 

L.    Resident  Fellows.       .  ,  .  .  .  .540 

LI.    Letter  from  President  Leverett  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. ......      541 

LII.     Letter  from  President  Leverett  to  John  White.  .  542 

LIII.     Letter  from  President  Leverett  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives.      ......  543 

LIV.    The  President's  Chair  .  .  .  .  .544 

LV.     Memorial  of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court.  .  544 

LVI.     Extract  from  a  Letter  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin 

Colman.  .  .  .  .  .  546 

LVII.    Memorial  of  the  Corporation  to  the  Lieutenant-Gover- 

nor  and  Council.  .....  546 

LVIII.    Extract  from  a  Letter  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Benjamin 

Colman.  ......  556 

LIX.    Memorial  of  the   Rev.  Mr.  Wadsworth  and  the  Rev. 

Mr.  Colman  to  the  General  Court.   .  .  .  557 

LX.     Cotton  Mather's   Suggestions  on  points  to  be  inquired 

into  concerning  Harvard  College.  .  .  .      558 

LXI.    Memorial  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  and  the   Rev.  Mr. 

Myles  to  the  General  Court.        .  .  .  .560 

LXI1.     Memorial  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler   and  the  Rev.  Mr. 

Myles  to  the  General  Court.        ....      563 

LXIII.     Answer  of  the  Overseers  to  the  Memorial  of  the  Rev. 

Dr.  Cutler  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Myles.      .  .  .566 

LXIV.    Reply  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Myles 

to  the  Answer  of  the  Overseers.  .  .  .      572 

LXV.     Overseers'  Committee  of  Inquiry.          .  .  .  574 

LXVI.     Case  of  Mr.  Longloissorie,  French  Instructor.      .  .      574 

LXVIL-    Laws,   Rules,   and    Scholastic    Forms,   established    by 

President  Dunster.  .....      577 

LXVIII.    Acts,  relating  to  the  Constitution  and  Government  of 

the  College  from  1636  to  1780 586 


LIST   OF   THE  ENGRAVINGS. 


Vol.  Page. 

1.  VIEW  OF  THE  COLLEGE  HALLS,  AND  OF  THE  PRO- 

CESSION OF  THE  ALUMNI  ON  THE  STH  OF   SEP- 
TEMBER, 1836 Frontispiece.  I. 

2.  SECOND  SEAL  OF  THE  COLLEGE —  23 

3.  FIRST  HARVARD  HALL —  43 

4.  FACSIMILE  OF  THE  RECORD  OF  THE  FIRST  MEETING 

OF  THE  GOVERNORS  OF  THE  COLLEGE  AFTER  THE 
CHARTER  OF  1642,  AMD  THE  ORIGINAL  SEAL  OF 

THE  COLLEGE —  48 

5.  FIRST  STOUGHTON  HALL —  194 

6.  PRESIDENT'S  CHAIR —  288 

7.  MASSACHUSETTS  HALL  (WITH  THE  FIRST   HARVARD 

AND  STOUGHTON  HALLS.) —  347 

8.  PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE —  404 

9.  THIRD,  OR  PRESENT,  SEAL  OF  THE  COLLEGE.      .     .  —  612 

10.  GORE  HALL Frontispiece.  II. 

11.  HOLDEN  CHAPEL —  38 

12.  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH —  86 

13.  HOLLIS  HALT *  —  102 

14.  SECOND,  OR  PRESENT,  HARVARD  HALL —  122 

15.  HOLWORTHY  HALL —  299 

16.  UNIVERSITY  HALL —  319 

17.  DIVINITY  HALL —  361 

18.  MASSACHUSETTS  MEDICAL  COLLEGE —  393 

19.  DANE  HALL ".    .  —  441 

20.  HARVARD'S  MONUMENT —  458 

21.  PAVILION,  ERECTED  FOR  THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRA- 

TION IN  1836.  —  708 


HISTORY 


OF 


HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Centennial  Celebration  in  1836.  —  Origin  and  Design  of  this  History. — 
Vote  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1636.  —  Bequest 
of  John  Harvard.  —  His  Name  conferred  on  the  Seminary.  —  Early 
Donations.  —  Nathaniel  Eaton.  —  Henry  Dunster  elected  first  Presi- 
dent. —  His  Administration.  —  Charters  of  1642  and  1650.  —  Contri- 
butions of  the  Colonies. — Resignation  of  President  Dunster.  —  His 
Death.  —  State  of  the  Finances  of  the  College. 

ON  the  8th  of  September,  1636,  the  legislature  of   CHAPTER 
the    Colony    of    Massachusetts   Bay    passed    an    act,  - 
which  resulted  in  the  foundation  of  Harvard  College,  desfgnof 

this  Ilisto- 

Two  centuries  after  that  day,  on  the  8th  of  Septem-  ry. 
her,  1836,  the  Corporation,  the  Overseers,  the  officers 
of   government    and    instruction,    and    the    sons   and 
friends  of  the  institution,  assembled  within  its  walls 
to  commemorate  that  event. 

An  extract  from  the  Address,  delivered  by  the 
President  of  the  University  on  that  occasion,  at  the 
request  of  the  Corporation,  will  explain  the  origin 
and  design  of  this  History. 

VOL.  i.  1 


2  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       "  The  design  of  this  celebration  is  neither  tempo- 

_J rary  excitement  nor  transient  effect.      \\  e   have   not 

assembled,  on  some  popular  holyday,  to  witness  the 
play  of  dazzling  and  delusive  words.  We  come,  as 
children,  to  the  beloved  home  of  our  literary  parent, 
on  her  birthday,  with  greetings  and  gratulations,  — 
with  simple  and  child-like  offerings,  to  be  valued, 
not  for  their  beauty  or  material  or  workmanship, 
but  for  their  truth  and  fidelity,  as  evidences  of  in- 
terest and  attachment,  as  acknowledgments  of  bles- 
sings received,  and  of  hopes  fulfilled.  We  come,  in 
her  presence,  to  express  filial  and  to  cultivate  fra- 
ternal affections;  asking  for  reminiscences  of  her  ear- 
ly years ;  inquiring  if  research  have  rescued  aught 
concerning  her  from  the  ruins  of  time  ;  bringing 
hearts  disposed  to  magnify  the  minute,  and  to  at 
tach  importance  to  what  is  common ;  prepared  to 
hear  again  the  thrice-told  tale  of  her  infant  days, 
and  to  listen  to  the  touching  memoirs  of  her  poverty 
and  weakness; — to  us  interesting,  not  from  the  great- 
ness of  the  recapitulated  events,  but  from  our  grati- 
tude for  experienced  benefits ;  bearing  in  their  train 
joys,  which  children  alone  know,  and  which  strangers 
can  scarcely  be  expected  to  share,  or  even  to  under- 
stand 

"Harvard  University  was  established  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  earliest  class  of  emigrants  to  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  It  was,  from  the  first,  intimately  connect- 
ed with  political  and  religious  opinions  and  events. 
In  every  period,  its  destinies  have  been  materially 
affected  by  the  successive  changes,  which  time  and 
intellectual  advancement  have  produced  in  political 
relations  and  religious  influences.  It  is  impossible 
rightly  to  illustrate  its  early  and  later  historv,  with- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  .      3 

out   referring    to   these   connexions,    and    tracing   to  CHAPTER 
them   much  of  the  adverse,  as   well   as   prosperous,  - 
fortunes  of  the  seminary. 
"The  events  which  have  affected  the  fortunes  of  Har-  The  history 

divided  into 

vard  College,  during  the  last  two  centuries,  may  be  f«»j»e- 
advantageously  arranged  and  considered,  in  relation  to 
four  great  periods ;  each  embracing  about  fifty  years. 
The  first  period  terminates  with  the  College  charter, 
granted  in  1692  by  the  first  Provincial  legislature, 
assembled  under  the  charter  of  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary. .  The  second  extends  from  this  time  to 
the  accession  of  Holyoke  to  the  presidency,  in  1736y 
The  third  includes  the  succeeding  years  to  the  ac- 
cession of  Willard,  in  1780.  The  fourth  embraces  the 
time  subsequent. 

"During  the  first  period,  the  College  was  conducted 
as  a  theological  institution,  in  strict  coincidence  with 
the  nature  of  the  political  constitution  of  the  colony ; 
having  religion  for  its  basis  and  chief  object.  Al- 
though the  charter  of  the  College  gave  it  no  sec- 
tarian bias,  it  was,  without  question,  regarded  by  both 
the  clergy  and  the  politicians  of  the-  period,  as  an 
instrument  destined  to  promote  and  perpetuate  the 
religious  opinions  predominating  at  the  time.  The 
seminary,  during  this  period,  will  be  seen  amidst  pov- 
erty and  suffering;  depending  for  its  existence  on  a 
precarious,  and  often  penurious,  benevolence ;  solicit- 
ing aid,  and  repulsed ;  in  want,  and  its  own  funds 
withheld  ;  in  distress,  and  relief  denied  or  postponed  ; 
sometimes  tossed  on  the  waves  of  political,  sometimes 
on  those  of  religious  controversy,  and,  amidst  the  con- 
flicts of  both,  raising  as  high  as  the  times  required, 
or  its  resources  permitted,  the  standard  of  the  litera- 
ture of  the  country. 


4  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       "In  the  second  period,  bitter   controversies  will   be 

—  found  springing  up  between  those  religious  parties,  into 

which  the  Congregational  sect  divided  immediately 
after  the  new  principle  of  political  power  introduced 
by  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary  had  deprived 
it  of  that  supremacy,  which  the  old  charter  had 
secured  to  the  Congregational  clergy.  Of  these  the 
College  was  often  the  field  and  sometimes  the  object. 
In  consequence,  its  sky  was  occasionally  obscured,  and 
its  progress  embarrassed.  It  regularly,  however,  ad- 
vanced under  new  and  not  inferior  auspices.  High 
Calvinists,  indeed,  regarded  it  with  diminished  favor, 
and  even  began  to  look  elsewhere  for  instruments  to 
propagate  their  sentiments  and  extend  their  power. 
But  new  friends  to  it  arose ;  its  usefulness  became 
acknowledged  ;  and  its  resources  increased. 

"In  the  third  period,  the  divisions  of  the  Congrega- 
tional sect  grew  wider  and  more  marked.  They  prose- 
cuted their  animosities,  notwithstanding,  with  a  subdued 
temper,  partly  from  experience  of  the  unprofitableness 
of  such  controversies,  and  partly  from  a  fear,  enter- 
tained in  common  by  all  the  parties  formed  out  of 
those  divisions,  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  Epis- 
copalian sect ;  which,  at  this  time,  began  to  display 
its  standard  with  great  boldness,  supported  by  the 
favor  and  funds  of  the  transatlantic  hierarchy.  While 
the  leaders  of  each  division  were  actively  engaged 
in  one  common  cause,  they  naturally  composed,  or 
treated  with  a  politic  tenderness,  their  mutual  differ- 
ences. The  political  aspect  of  affairs  began  also,  early 
in  this  period,  to  foretell  the  coming  revolutionary  tem- 
pest. Amid  the  preparations  for  the  contest,  which 
led  to  national  independence,  religious  animosities 
were  suspended ;  nor  was  their  voice  heard  during 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  £> 

the  din  and  excitement  of  that  struggle.    In  the  mean   CHAPTER 

time  the  College  was  permitted  to  remain  in  a  state  '. — 

of  comparative  tranquillity  ;  viewed,  indeed,  by  some 
of  the  Calvinistic  sect  with  coldness  and  jealousy, 
and  its  officers  charged  by  some  with  being  Ar- 
minians,  and  even  suspected  of  more  fearful  heresies. 
Embracing,  however,  as  the  College  did  with  equal 
warmth  and  openness,  the  cause  of  American  Inde- 
pendence, it  at  the  same  time  acquired  a  well-deserved 
popularity,  and  shared,  in  common  with  all  the  other 
institutions  of  the  country,  the  pecuniary  losses  and 
embarrassment  consequent  on  that  contest. 

"During  the  fourth  and  last  period,  extending  to  our 
own  time,  the  College,  now  raised  to  the  rank  of  a 
University,  partook,  with  the  country  at  large,  of  the 
vicissitudes  following  the  war,  and  subsequently  of  the 
prosperity,  which  ensued  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
federal  Constitution,  and  on  an  orderly  arrangement  of 
State  and  national  affairs.  From  this  time  the  semi- 
nary began  to  regard  itself,  and  to  be  regarded  by 
others,  as  an  institution  devoted  exclusively  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  science  and  general  literature  ;  —  as  a 
tree,  destined  to  support  and  develope  all  the  objects 
of  human  knowledge  and  pursuit,  in  proportion  to 
their  respective  value  and  importance ;  of  which 
Theology  should  be  always  a  branch,  but  no  longer 
the  stem. 

"In  each  of  these  periods,  the  occasion  requires,  that, 
as  we  pursue  the  order  of  events,  the  causes  of  that 
prosperity,  which  the  seminary  now  enjoys,  should  be 
traced  to  the  character  of  its  founders  and  patrons,  and 
to  the  literary,  political,  and  religious  influences  of 
successive  times ;  and,  above  all,  while  passing  down 
the  series  of  succeeding  years,  as  through  the  interior 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  of  some  ancient  temple,  which  displays  on  either  hand 

the  statues  of  distinguished  friends  and  benefactors, 

that  we  should  stay  for  a  moment  in  the  presence  of 
each,  doing  justice  to  the  humble,  illustrating  the 
obscure,  placing  in  a  true  light  the  modest,  and  noting 
rapidly  the  moral  and  intellectual  traits,  which  time 
has  spared ;  to  the  end  that  ingratitude,  the  proverbial 
sin  of  republics,  may  not  attach  to  the  republic  of 
letters ;  and  that  whoever  feeds  the  lamp  of  science, 
however  obscurely,  however  scantily,  may  know,  that, 
sooner  or  later,  his  name  and  virtues  shall  be  made 
conspicuous  by  its  light,  and  throughout  all  time  ac- 
company its  lustre. 

"From  this  view,  it  is  apparent  that  the  occasion 
requires,  not  an  oration,  but  a  treatise ;  not  an  address, 
but  a  History. 

"Like  the  historian,  then,  of  ancient  times,  when, 
on  Grecian  soil  and  like  solemn  occasion,  were  assem- 
bled, as  now  and  here,  the  wise,  the  learned,  the 
pious,  and  the  great,  let  us  also  strive  to  beguile  the 
passing  hour  with  an  appropriate  story  of  former 
years ;  and  like  him  too,  leave  it  half  told,  when 
hearers  give  signs  of  weariness,  or  when  the  herald 
shall  proclaim  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  feast  and 
the  games." 

On  recurring  to  the  origin  of  this  seminary,  our  first 
feelings  impel  us  to  wonder  and  admire.  That  intel- 
lectual men  should  early  contemplate  an  institution 
for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  the  higher  branches 
of  science  might  be  expected,  and  is  in  conformity 
with  the  usual  practice  of  mankind.  But  this  has 
ever  happened  after  time  had  given  validity  to  their 
occupation  of  the  soil,  and  external  enemies  had  been 
conquered  or  conciliated ;  after  those  roots  of  dis- 


Origin  of 
the  Col- 
lege. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  7 

cord,  which  naturally  spring  up  among  new  combina-    CHAPTER 
tions  of  men,   had  been    extirpated  or  overpowered ;         L 
after  wealth  had   begun  to  flow  in,  and  a  sense  of 
security,  combining  with  a  sense  of  prosperity,    had 
given  power  and  expansion  to  the  spirit  of  benevo- 
lence.    At  such  a  stage  of  advancement,  institutions, 
having  for  their  object  varied,  high,  and  exact  scien- 
tific education,  might  be  anticipated. 

Now,  wonderful  as  is  the  fact,  this  institution  was 
projected  under  circumstances  in  every  particular 
the  reverse  of  these.  It  was  not  among  the  later, 
but  among  the  earliest  thoughts  of  our  ancestors. 
They  waited  not  for  days  of  affluence,  of  peace,  or 
even  of  domestic  concord.  The  first  necessities  of 
civilized  man,  food,  raiment,  and  shelter,  had  scarcely 
been  provided  ;  civil  government  and  the  worship  of 
God  had  alone  been  instituted,  when  the  great  inter- 
ests of  education  engaged  their  attention.  Their  zeal 
was  not  repressed^by  the  narrowness  of  their  territorial 
limits,  not  yet  extending  thirty  miles  on  the  seacoast, 
nor  twenty  into  the  interior ;  nor  yet  by  the  terror  of 
a  savage  enemy,  threatening  the  very  existence  of  the 
settlement ;  nor  by  the  claims  on  their  scanty  re- 
sources, which  an  impending  Indian  war  created  ;  nor 
by  the  smallness  of  their  numbers,  certainly  not  then 
exceeding  five  thousand  families ;  nor  yet  by  the  most 
unhappy  and  most  ominous  to  their  tranquillity  of  all, 
the  religious  disputes,  in  which  they  were  ever  im- 
plicated. It  was  under  a  combination  of  disastrous 
and  oppressive  circumstances,  any  one  of  which  would 
have  deterred  men  of  less  moral  courage  and  intellec- 
tual vigor  from  engaging  in  any  such  general  design, 
—  on  the  eve  of  a  war  with  the  fiercest  and  most 
powerful  of  all  the  native  tribes,  —  the  Antinomian 


8  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  controversy  at  its  highest  and  most  bitter  excitement, 

'. —  —  an  unexplored  wilderness  extending  over  their 

fragile  dwellings  its  fear-inspiring  shades  ;  —  in  the 
daytime,  the  serpent  gliding  across  their  domestic 
hearths,  or  rattling  its  terrors  in  their  path  ;  in  the 
night,  their  slumbers  broken  by  the  howl  of  the  wild 
beast,  or  by  the  yell  and  warwhoop  of  the  savage  ;  — 
it  was  amidst  a  complex  variety  of  dangers,  which, 
at  this  day,  the  imagination  can  neither  exaggerate 
nor  conceive,  that  this  poor,  this  distressed,  this  dis- 
cordant band  of  Pilgrims  set  about  erecting  a  seminary 
of  learning,  and  appropriated  for  its  establishment  a 
sum  "  equal  to  a  year's  rate  of  the  whole  colony  "  ! 
For  a  like  spirit,  under  like  circumstances,  history  will 
be  searched  in  vain.* 

The  record  is  as  simple,  as  its  object  was  noble  and 
1636.  its  spirit  elevated.  Two  centuries  ago,  on  the  second 
Thursday  and  eighth  day  of  September,  that  General 
Court  first  assembled,  among  whose  proceedings  is 
the  following  record.  "  The  Court  agree  to  give 
Four  Hundred  Pounds  towards  a  School  or  College, 
whereof  Two  Hundred  Pounds  shall  be  paid  the 
next  year,  and  Two  Hundred  Pounds  when  the  work 
is  finished,  and  the  next  Court  to  appoint  where  and 
what  building." 

To  this  date  we  trace  the  origin  of  the  seminary. 
This  is 


"gentis  cunabula  nostrae, 
.     .     uberrima  regna." 


*  "Within  ten  years  after  the  little  flock  landed  at  Salem,  a  College 
was  endowed  by  them  and  established.  It  is  questionable,  whether  a 
more  honorable  specimen  of  public  spirit  can  be  found  in  the  history 
of  mankind."  —  DWIGHT'S  Travels  in  New  England,  Vol.  I.  p.  481. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  9 

vThe   year  ensuing  (1637),  the  General  Court  ap-  CHAPTER 

pointed  twelve  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  colony  ! 

"to  take  order  for  a  college  at  Newtown."  All  of  [637- 
them  names  dear  to  New  England,  on  account  of 
their  sacrifices,  their  sufferings,  and  virtues.  Among 
these,  there  were,  of  the  clergy,  Shepard  and  Cotton 
and  Wilson  ;  of  the  laity,  Stoughton  and  Dudley ;  and, 
above  all,  Winthrop,  the  Governor,  the  guide  and 
the  good  genius  of  the  Colony.  Soon  afterward  the 
General  Court  changed  the  name  of  the  town  from 
Newtown  to  Cambridge ;  a  grateful  tribute  to  the 
transatlantic  literary  parent  of  many  of  the  first  emi- 
grants, and  indicative  of  the  high  destiny  to  which 
they  intended  the  institution  they  were  establishing 
should  aspire. 

Notwithstanding  the  zeal  displayed,  and  the  en- 
couragement thus  liberally  promised,  yet,  such  were 
the  poverty,  danger,  and  disunion  of  the  time,  that  it 
would  have  been  altogether  impossible  for  them  to 
carry  their  design  into  effect,  had  not  an  event,  wholly 
unanticipated,  supplied  resources  applicable  immedi-r 
ately  to  its  execution. 

In  the   year   1638,  while  they  were  only  contem-  JohnHar- 

1         •  •  T      ,  TT  I  ,.  •  Vard" 

plating  its  commencement,  John  Harvard,  a  dissenting  i638. 
clergyman  of  England,  resident  at  Charlestown,  died, 
and  bequeathed  one  half  of  his  whole  property,  and 
his  entire  library,  to  the  institution.  From  the  amount 
of  his  bequest,  he  must  have  been  among  the  most 
wealthy  emigrants.  It  was  equal  to,  if  not  double,  that 
which  the  colony  had  ventured  even  to  promise  ;  and, 
besides,  was  capable  of  being  applied  at  once  to  the 
object.  An  instance  of  benevolence  thus  striking  and 
timely,  proceeding  from  one  who  had  been  scarcely 
a  year  in  the  country,  was  accepted  by  our  fathers  as 
VOL.  i.  2 


10  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  an  omen  of  divine  favor.  With  prayer  and  thanks- 
giving they  immediately  commenced  the  seminary, 
and  conferred  upon  it  the  name  of  Harvard,  thus  ac- 
knowledging him  as  its  founder. 

Of  John  Harvard  history  gives  little  information, 
and  that  very  imperfect.  That  he  was  educated  at 
Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try in  1637,  and  was  immediately  admitted  a  freeman 
of  the  jurisdiction  and  a  member  of  the  church  in 
Charlestown,  is  all  that  is  known  concerning  him  with 
distinctness  and  certainty.  His  contemporaries  had 
few  opportunities  to  become  acquainted  with  his 
character.  He  had  been  but  a  year  in  the  country, 
and  during  the  whole  time  probably  the  destined  victim 
of  consumption,  which  in  that  short  period  brought 
him  to  his  grave.  The  historians  of  the  time  apply  to 
him  the  epithets  of  "  reverend,"  "  godly,"  "  a  lover  of 
learning."  How  true  and  efficient  a  patron  of  it  he 
was,  this  seminary  is  both  a  witness  and  a  monument, 
more  durable  than  one  of  marble  or  granite. 

The  catalogue  of  his  library,  consisting  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  volumes,  still  exists  among  the  archives 
of  the  seminary,  and  indicates  not  only  his  professional 
studies,  but  also  his  general  scholarship.  Besides  a 
formidable  array  of  veteran  champions  of  the  ancient 
church  militant,  such  as  Ames  and  Aquinas,  Bellar- 
mine,  Beza,  and  Broughton,  Chrysostom  and  Calvin, 
Duns  Scotus  and  Luther  and  Pelagius,  there  are  works 
of  more  general  literature,  such  as  Bacon's  and  Rob- 
inson's Essays,  Bacon's  Advancement  of  Learning, 
Minsheu's  Guide  to  the  Tongues,  Heylyn's  Geography, 
and  Camden's  Remains,  all  works,  at  that  time,  of  re- 
cent publication.  The  classical  department  of  his  library 
was  even  more  rich  and  select.  In  it  were  Homer, 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  \\ 

Isocrates,   Lucan,    Plutarch,   Pliny,   Sallust,   Terence,    CHAPTER 

Juvenal,  and  Horace,  the  last  with  Stephanus's  Notes *— 

and  a  folio  Commentary.  Such  are  the  only  indi- 
cations, that  remain,  of  the  literary  and  intellectual 
tastes  of  our  founder. 

The  scanty  records  *  of  the  period  even  leave  some 
doubt  as  to  the  amount,  of  his  bounty.  Let  it  have 
been  more  or  less,  it  is  equally  entitled  to  the  epithet 
"  munificent,"  so  justly  conferred  on  the  bequest  of 
John-  Harvard,!  in  that  eloquent  tribute  to  his  memo- 
ry, occasioned  by  the  erection,  some  years  since,  of  a 
monument  to  him  at  Charlestown,  by  the  alumni  of 
the  College. 

Whatever  was  the  amount,  it  was  the  half  of  his 
whole  fortune,  and  his  entire  library ;  and  this  from  a 
man,  who,  although  he  had  no  children,  left  a  widow 
and  general  heirs  who  were  dear  to  him.  It  was  also 
the  earliest,  the  noblest,  and  the  purest  tribute  to  re- 
ligion and  science  this  western  world  had  yet  witness- 
ed. It  was  equally  timely  and  unexampled.  Wisely 
and  justly  did  our  ancestors  inscribe  his  name  upon 
the  seminary,  and  acknowledge  him  as  its  founder, 
who  had,  at  a  moment  so  seasonable  and  critical, 
afforded  that  efficient  aid,  which  alone  enabled  them 
at  once  to  give  it  existence. 

The  example  of  Harvard  was  like  an  electric  spark 
falling  upon  materials  of  a  sympathetic  nature,  exciting 
immediate  action  and  consentaneous  energy.  The 
magistrates  caught  the  spirit,  and  led  the  way,  by  a 
subscription  among  themselves  of  two  hundred  pounds, 
in  books,  for  the  library.  The  comparatively  wealthy 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  1. 

f  See  "  An  Address  at  the  Erection  of  a  Monument  to  John  Harvard, 
Sept.  28th,  1828,  by  Edward  Everett." 


12  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   followed  with  gifts  of  twenty  and  thirty  pounds.     The 

needy  multitude   succeeded,    like  the  widow  of  old, 

"  casting  their  mites  into  the  treasury." 

The  early  records  of  the  College  indicate  the  uni- 
versality of  the  will,  at  the  same  time  that  the  nature 
of  the  gifts  exhibit,  in  a  strong  light,  the  simplicity 
and  the  necessities  of  the  period.  "  When  we  read," 
says  Peirce,*  the  learned  and  laborious  historian  of 
the  University,  "  of  a  number  of  sheep  bequeathed 
by  one  man,  of  a  quantity  of  cotton  cloth  worth  'nine 
shillings  presented  by  another,  of  a  pewter  flagon 
worth  ten  shillings  by  a  third,  of  a  fruit  dish,  a 
sugar-spoon,  a  silver-tipt  jug,  one  great  salt,  and 
one  small  trencher-salt,  by  others ;  and  of  presents 
or  legacies,  amounting  severally  to  five  shillings,  one 
pound,  two  pounds,  &c.,  all  faithfully  recorded  with 
the  names  of  the  donors,  we  are  at  first  tempted  to 
smile ;  but  a  little  reflection  will  soon  change  this 
disposition  into  a  feeling  of  respect  and  even  of 
admiration." 

Early  dona-  How  just  is  the  remark  of  this  historian !  How 
forcible  and  full  of  noble  example  is  the  picture  ex- 
hibited by  these  records  !  The  poor  emigrant,  struggling 
for  subsistence,  almost  houseless,  in  a  manner  defence- 
less, is  seen  selecting  from  the  few  remnants  of  his 
former  prosperity,  plucked  by  him  out  of  the  flames 
of  persecution,  and  rescued  from  the  perils  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  valued  pride  of  his  table,  or  the  precious 
delight  of  his  domestic  hearth;  —  "his  heart  stirred  and 
his  spirit  willing,"  to  give  according  to  his  means,  to- 
wards establishing  for  learning  a  resting-place,  and  for 
science  a  fixed  habitation,  on  the  borders  of  the  wilder- 

-'V 
*  History  of  Harvard  University,  p.   17. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  13 

ness  !  The  inhabitants  of  the  country  contributing  from   CHAPTER 
their  acres,   or   their  flocks ;   those  of   the  metropolis  - 
from  their  shops  and  stores ;   the  clergyman  from  his 
library,  and  the  mechanic  from  his  tools  of  trade !     No 
rank,  no  order  of  men,  is  unrepresented,  in  this  great 
crusade  against  ignorance  and  infidelity.     None  fails 
to  appear  at   this  glorious  clan-gathering  in  favor  of 
learning  and  religion. 

At  this  period  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
recall  from  oblivion  the  names  of  men,  some  of  whom, 
it  appears  by  the  record,  made  it  the  condition  of  their 
gifts,  that  they  should  be  unknown  ;  and  none  of  whom 
looked,  or  sought,  for  other  applause  than  that,  which 

"  Lives  and  spreads  aloft  by  those  pure  eyes 

And  perfect  witness  of  the  All-judging, 

As  he  pronounces  lastly  on  each  deed." 

The  bequest  of  Harvard  occurred  during  the  time  Nathaniel 

*  Eaton. 

that  the  infant  seminary,  with  the  title  only  of 
"  school,"  was  under  the  superintendence  of  Nathan- 
iel Eaton.  Of  this  man  nothing  has  been  transmitted 
worthy  of  being  repeated.  He  was  "  convented  before 
the  magistrates,"  and  convicted  of  being  passionate, 
quarrelsome,  negligent,  and  cruel.  On  account  of  the 
scandal  of  his  conduct  to  religion,  and  the  apprehen- 
sions it  might  awaken  in  parents,  he  was  lined  and 
dismissed.  His  delinquencies  are  minutely  recapitu- 
lated in  Winthrop's  "  History  of  New  England,"  and 
sufficiently  justify  this  severity.*  It  appears  also,  by 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Savage,  the  exact  and  scrutinizing 
commentator  on  Winthrop,  that,  at  no  subsequent  peri- 
od of  the  College  history,  has  discontent  with  commons 


*  Winthrop's  History  of  New  England,  with  Notes  by  James  Savage, 
Vol.  I.  pp.  308-313. 


14  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   been  more  just  and  well-founded,  than  under  the  hus- 

-'- wifery  management  of  Mrs.  Eaton.     "It  is  perhaps 

owing,"  he  adds,  "  to  the  gallantry  of  our  fathers,  that 
she  was  not  conjoined  in  the  perpetual  malediction 
they  bestowed  on  her  husband." 

By  the  fiscal  accounts  of  Eaton,  it  is  apparent, 
that  the  superintendence  of  the  building  then  erecting, 
the  receiving  of  donations  and  applying  them,  were 
all  intrusted  to  his  discretion.  On  his  dismissal, 
these  powers  were  transferred  by  the  General  Court 
to  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard,  who  performed  those 
duties  until  the  arrival  in  the  country  of  the  Rev. 
Henry  Henry  Dunster.  This  occurred  in  the  autumn  of 

1640.  1 640 ;  and  his  qualifications  for  the  office  were  so 
conspicuous,  that  he  received,  from  the  magistrates 
and  elders,  promises  and  encouragements*  sufficiently 
alluring  to  induce  him  to  accept  the  appointment, 
with  the  title  of  "  President." 

During  the  first  six  and  thirty  years  after  the  foun- 
dation of  the  seminary,  its  history  offers  little  to 
awaken  general  interest,  except  events  in  immediate 
connexion  with  the  characters  and  fate  of  the  first 
two  presidents,  Dunster  and  Chauncy.  Both  of  them 
were  able,  faithful,  and  earnest.  Both  pious,  even 
to  the  excess  of  the  standard  of  that  quality,  which 
characterized  the  times.  Both  were  learned  beyond 
the  measure  of  their  contemporaries ;  and  probably,  in 
this  respect,  were  surpassed  by  no  one,  who  has  since 
succeeded  to  their  chair.  After  years  of  duty  unex- 
ceptionably  fulfilled,  both  experienced  the  common 
fate  of  the  literary  men  of  this  country  at  that  day ;  — 
thankless  labor,  unrequited  service,  arrearages  un- 

*  See  Peirce's  History  of  Harvard  University,  Appendix,  p.  79. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  15 

paid,  posthumous  applause,    a    doggrel   dirge,    and  a   CHAPTER 
Latin  epitaph.  L 

Among  the  early  friends  of  the  College,  no  one 
deserves  more  distinct  notice  than  Henry  Dunster. 
He  united  in  himself  the  character  of  both  patron 
and  President ;  for,  poor  as  he  was,  he  contributed, 
at  a  time  of  its  utmost  need,  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  towards  its  support ;  besides  rendering  to  it, 
for  a  succession  of  years,  a  series  of  official  services, 
well  directed,  unwearied,  and  altogether  inestimable. 

Under  his  administration,  the  first  code  of  laws 
was  formed;* rules  of  admission,  and  the  principles  on 
which  degrees  should  be  granted,  were  established ; 
arid  scholastic  forms,  similar  to  those  customary  in  the  1642. 
English  Universities,  were  adopted  ;  many  of  which 
continue,  with  little  variation,  to  be  used  at  the  present 
time.  The  charter  of  1642  was  probably,  and  that 
of  1650  was  avowedly,  obtained  on  his  petition.!  By 
solicitations  among  his  friends,  and  by  personal  sacri- 
fices, he  built  a  President's  house.  He  was  instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season  with  the  General  Court,  for 
the  relief  of  the  College  in  its  extreme  wants.  The 

Commissioners  of  the   United  Colonies  stood  to  the  commis- 
sioners of 
people  of  New  England,  in  that  day,  somewhat  in  the  the  United 

J '  Colonies. 

relation  in  which  Congress  now  stands  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States.  They  had,  however,  only  the 
power  to  recommend  measures,  not  to  enforce  them. 
Dunster  formed  the  plan  of  concentrating  upon  the 
College  the  patronage  of  all  the  Colonies.  Under  his 
auspices,  a  memorial  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Shepard, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Cambridge,  to  those  Com- 
missioners, for  a  general  contribution  for  the  main- 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVII.  and  No.  LXVII. 
t  Ibid.,  No.  LXVIII. 


16  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  tenance  of  poor  scholars  at  the  College,  to  the  end, 
' that  "  the  Commonwealth  may  be  furnished  with  know- 
ing and  understanding  men,  and  the  churches  with 
an  able  ministry."  The  tenor  of  this  memorial  strik- 
ingly illustrates  the  simplicity  and  the  poverty  of  the 
times.  It  entreats  the  Commissioners  to  recommend 
"  to  every  family  throughout  the  plantations  (which 
is  able  and  willing  to  give)  to  contribute  a  fourth 
part  of  a  bushel  of  corn,  or  something  equivalent 
thereto,"  which,  it  declares,  would  be  "  a  blessed  means 
of  comfortable  provision,  for  the  diet  of  such  students, 
as  stand  in  need  of  support."  The  Commissioners 
approved  the  plan,  and  made  the  recommendation  re- 
quested.* 

The  patronage  thus  extended  by  these  Commis- 
sioners to  the  seminary,  gave  them  some  claim  to 
have  a  voice  in  its  concerns.  Accordingly,  in  1646, 
they  recommended  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts, to  take  some  course  with  the  parents  of  the 
scholars,  "  that  these,  when  furnished  with  learning, 
remove  not  into  other  countries,  but  improve  their 
parts  and  abilities  in  the  service  of  the  Colonies. "f 
There  was  some  reason  for  the  apprehension  this  re- 
commendation indicates ;  for,  of  the  twenty  scholars, 
who  had  been  graduated  at  the  College  prior  to  1646, 
tioelve  had  actually  then  gone  to  Europe,  all  of  whom 
found  employment  there ;  and  eleven  of  them  never 
returned  to  this  country. 

1647.  In  1647,  Dunster,  who  never  omitted  any  oppor- 
tunity to  be  useful  to  the  College,  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Commissioners,  containing  various  inquiries  for 
their  advice  and  direction ;  "  touching  cases,"  says  he, 

*  Hazard's  State   Papers,  Vol.  II.  p.   17.  f  Ibid.  p.  74. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  17 

"  difficult  to  myself,  and  which  may  be  dangerous  in  time   CHAPTER 
ensuing  to  others,  unless  regulated  by  your  counsels." 

By  this  memorial  it  appears,  that  the  contributions  contnbu- 

J  tions  of  the 

from  the  Colonies  had  amounted  to  fifty  pounds  per  colonies. 
annum.  But,  if  the  first  proposition  of  one  shilling 
a  family  had  been  attended  to,  it  would  have  amount- 
ed to  much  more ;  for,  although  "  some  families  give, 
some  withhold."  By  the  same  document  it  also  ap- 
pears, that  a  principal  part  of  the  President's  main- 
tenance arose  out  of  "  stipends  from  the  scholars";  that 
the  College  building,  in  roof,  walls,  and  foundation, 
was  out  of  repair ;  that  the  library  was  defective  in  all 
manner  of  books ;  especially  in  law,  philosophy,  phys- 
ics, and  mathematics,  "  the  furnishing  whereof,"  the 
memorialist  adds,  "  would  be  both  honorable  and  profit- 
able to  the  country  in  general,  and  in  an  especial  man- 
ner to  those  scholars,  whose  various  inclinations  to  all 
professions  might  thereby  be  encouraged."  * 

Again,  in  1651,  Dunster  urges  upon  the  Com- 
missioners the  decaying  condition  of  the  College 
buildings,  and  the  necessity  of  their  repair  and  enlarge- 
ment ;  and,  in  reply,  the  Commissioners  promise  to 
propound  to  the  several  Colonies,  to  give  "  some  year- 
ly help,  by  pecks,  half-bushels,  and  bushels  of  wheat "  ;  1 6  5 1 . 
adding,  by  way  of  hint  to  the  "  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,"  (and  one  not  altogether  unnecessa- 
ry,) "  that  if  they  would  please  to  give  a  leading 
example,  the  rest  may  probably  more  readily  follow."  f 

Dunster's  usefulness,  however,  was  deemed  to  be 
at  an  end,  and  his  services  no  longer  desirable,  in 
consequence  of  his  falling,  in  1653,  as  Cotton  Mather 


*  See  Hazard's  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.  p.  84. 
t  Ibid.  p.  197. 
VOL.    I.  3 


18  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   expresses  it,  "into  the  briers  of  Antipaedobaptism,"* 

! and  of  his    having  borne    "  public  testimony,  in  the 

church    at  Cambridge,  against  the    administration  of 
baptism  to  any  infant  whatsoever." 

It  was  time,  in  the  opinion  of  our  worthy  ancestors, 
for  them  to  bestir  themselves,  when  the  pious  Mitch- 
el  himself  declared,  that  his  own  faith  in  the  ortho- 
dox doctrine  of  Paedobaptism  had  been  so  shaken, 
and  such  "  scruples  and  suggestions,"  in  respect  to  it, 
"  had  been  injected  into  him  by  Mr.  Dunster's  discour- 
ses," that  he  did  not  dare  to  trust  himself  within 
reach  of  their  "  venom  and  poison,"  it  being  "  not  hard 
to  discern  that  they  came  from  the  Evil  Owe."t 

Indicted  by  the  grand  jury  for  disturbing  the  or- 
dinance of  infant  baptism  in  the  Cambridge  church, 
convicted  by  the  court,  sentenced  to  a  public  admoni- 
tion on  lecture  day,  and  laid  under  bonds  for  good 
behaviour,  Dunster's  martyrdom  was  consummated  by 
being  compelled,  in  October,  1654,  to  resign  his  office 
of  President,  and  to  throw  himself  on  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  General  Court. 

President         There  is  a  simple,  touching  pathos,  in  the  following 
signa.         «  Considerations,"  f  he  submitted  to  that  body  in  the 
'     ensuing  November,   showing  why   he   should  not   be 
compelled  at  once,   for  the  convenience  of   his    suc- 
cessor, to  quit  the  President's  house. 

"  1  st.  The  time  of  the  year  is  unseasonable,  being 
now  very  near  the  shortest  day,  and  the  depth  of 
winter. 

*  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  chap.  4,  §  10.  t  Ibid. 

J  These  "  Considerations "  bear  date  the  10th  day  of  November, 
1654  ;  and  were  probably  presented  to  the  Genera]  Court  (among 
whose  papers  they  were  found)  after  his  formal  petition,  made  in  con- 
sequence of  his  resignation,  on  the  4th  of  November,  1654. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  19 

"  2d.    The  place  unto  which  I  go,  is  unknown  to  CHAPTER 

me  and  my  family,  and  the  ways  and  means  of  sub-  . 

sistence,  to  one  of  my  talents  and  parts,  or  for  the 
containing  or  conserving  my  goods,  or  disposing  of 
my  cattle,  accustomed  to  my  place  of  residence. 

"  3d.  The  place  from  which  I  go,  hath  fire,  fuel, 
and  all  provisions  for  man  and  beast,  laid  in  for  the 
winter.  To  remove  some  things  will  be  to  destroy 
them ;  to  remove  others,  as  books  and  household  goods, 
to  hazard  them  greatly.  The  house  I  have  builded, 
upon  very  damageful  conditions  to  myself,  out  of  love 
for  the  College,  taking  country  pay  in  lieu  of  bills 
of  exchange  on  England,  or  the  house  would  not  have 
been  built ;  and  a  considerable  part  of  it  was  given 
me,  at  my  request,  out  of  respect  to  myself,  albeit 
for  the  College. 

"  4th.  The  persons,  all  besides  myself,  are  women 
and  children,  on  whom  little  help,  now  their  minds 
lie  under  the  actual  stroke  of  affliction  and  grief. 
My  wife  is  sick,  and  my  youngest  child  extremely 
so,  and  hath  been  for  months,  so  that  we  dare  not 
carry  him  out  of  doors,  yet  much  worse  now  than 
before.  However,  if  a  place  be  found,  that  may  be 
comfortable  for  them,  and  reasonably  answer  the  ob- 
stacles above  mentioned,  myself  will  willingly  bow 
my  neck  to  any  yoke  of  personal  denial,  for  I  know 
for  what  and  for  whom,  by  grace,  I  suffer." 

"  The  whole  transaction  of  this  business  is  such, 
which  in  process  of  time,  when  all  things  come  to 
mature  consideration,  may  very  probably  create  grief 
on  all  sides ;  yours  subsequent,  as  mine  antecedent. 
I  am  not  the  man  you  take  me  to  be.  Neither  if  ye 
knew  what,  should,  and  why,  can  I  persuade  myself 
that  you  would  act,  as  I  am  at  least  tempted  to  think 


20  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  you    do.     But   our  times   are    in    God's   hands,   with 
-  whom  all  sides  hope,  by  grace  in  Christ,  to  find  favor, 
which   shall    be   my  prayer  for   you,  as  for  myself, 

"  Who  am,  honored  Gentlemen,  yours  to  serve, 

"  HENRY  DUNSTER." 

An  appeal  of  this  kind  was  irresistible ;  and,  not- 
withstanding "the  venom"  of  his  heresy,  and  the 
detected  cooperation  with  him  of  the  "  Evil  One"  the 
General  Court  consented  that  he  should  remain  in 
the  President's  house  till  the  March  following. 

Although  the  Court  granted  him  this  indulgence, 
their  treatment  of  him,  in  other  respects,  was  neither 
kind  nor  just.  He  found  the  seminary  a  school. 
It  rose,  under  his  auspices,  to  the  dignity  of  a 
College.  No  man  ever  questioned  his  talents,  learn- 
ing, exemplary  fidelity,  and  usefulness.  His  scanty 
salary  had  been  paid,  not  in  cash,  nor  in  kind,  but  by 
transfers  of  town  rates  ;  thereby  vesting  him  with  the 
character  of  tax-gatherer,  and  exposing  him  to  all  the 
vexations,  delays,  complaints,  losses,  and  abatements 
Hepeti-  incident  to  that  office.  In  1643,  he  complained  bit- 

tions  Gov- 

emorWin-  terly  to  Governor  Winthrop,  of  the  injuries  he  sus- 
tained by  this  practice.  Every  year  he  had  been  sub- 
jected to  depreciation,  delay,  and  loss,  which  he  prays 
may  be  made  up  to  him.  He  concludes  his  petition 
with  this  characteristic  declaration  ;  "  Considering  the 
poverty  of  the  country,  I  am  willing  to  descend  to  the 
lowest  step  ;  and,  if  nothing  can  comfortably  be  al- 
lowed, I  sit  still  appeased ;  desiring  nothing  more 
than  to  supply  me  and  mine  with  food  and  raiment."* 
Neither  his  modesty,  humility,  nor  virtues  stood  him 
in  any  stead  amidst  the  prevailing  prejudices  and 

*  See  Peirce's  History,  Appendix,  p.  16. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  21 

poverty  of  the  time.     After  his  resignation,  the  Cor-   CHAPTER 

poration,  in  May,   1655,  interested  themselves  in  his  '. 

behalf,  and  stated  to  the  General  Court,  that,  "  not- 
withstanding they  have  paid  Mr.  Dunster  all  that 
they  have  been  able,  there  is  still  due  to  him  nearly 
forty  pounds,  which  justice  and  equity  require  should  1655. 
be  paid ;  and,  besides  what  is  due  in  strict  account, 
they  think  an  hundred  pounds  ought  to  be  allowed 
Mr.  Dunster,  in  consideration  of  his  extraordinary 
pains  in  raising  up  and  carrying  on  the  College  for 
so  many  years  past,  and  desire  it  may  be  seriously 
considered,  and  hope  it  may  make  much  for  the  coun- 
try's honorable  discharge  in  the  hearts  of  all,  and 
perpetual  encouragement  of  their  servants  in  such 
public  works,  if  it  be  attended."* 

The  attempt  was  without  success  ;  and  a  commit-  Dunster's 

/>     i        T-\  •  i  •  i-i  •         treatment 

tee  or  the  Deputies  treat   his  appeal  to  their  humanity  bythcGen- 

J     era]  Court. 

and  justice  in  the  following  heartless  way.  "  What 
extraordinary  labor  in,  about,  and  concerning  the  weal 
of  the  College,  for  the  space  of  fourteen  years,  we 
know  of  none,  except  what  was  the  President's  duty, 
belonging  to  his  place  ;  unless  he  can  show  the  par- 
ticulars of  these  labors,  which  were  extraordinary."  f 
The  result  of  the  whole  affair  was,  that  he  obtained 
nothing  from  the  General  Court ;  and  that  the  Cor- 
poration, after  his  death,  paid  to  his  widow  twenty 
pounds,  in  full  of  the  balance  due  to  his  estate. 

Notwithstanding  his  apparent  religious  fanaticism, 
Dunster  possessed  a  gentle  heart  and  a  noble  vein 
of  Christian  charity. 

In  his  last  will,  he  denominates  President  Chauncy, 
who  had  taken  his  place  in  the  College,  and  Mr. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  II.  t  Ibid.,  No.  III. 


22  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  Mitchel,  the  Pastor  of  the  church  in  Cambridge,  who 

' thought  he  had  the  "  Evil  One  "  for  his  coadjutor, 

"my  reverend,"  "trusty,"  and  "judicious  friends," 
and  nominates  them  appraisers  of  his  library,  "  some 
of  the  books  of  which,"  he  adds,  "  being  in  such  lan- 
guages, whereof  common  Englishmen  know  not  one 
letter."  * 

His  death.  He  ordered  that  his  body  should  be  brought  to 
Cambridge  after  his  decease,  and  be  interred  near 
the  seminary,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  his  labors, 
and  which  he  had  consecrated  in  his  affections ;  and 
in  the  adjoining  churchyard  now  lie  the  remains  of 
as  true  a  friend,  and  as  faithful  a  servant,  as  this 
College  ever  possessed. 

Financial         The  loose  and  exaggerated  terms  in  which  Mather 

state  of  the  c  .  . 

college.      and  Johnson,  and  other  writers  of  that  period,  speak  of 

•  Jt  JE  It 

the  early  donations  to  the  College,  and  the  obscurity, 
not  to  say  confusion,  in  which  they  appear  in  the 
first  records  of  the  seminary,  led  Peirce,  its  historian, 
to  the  opinion,  that  "  the  property  of  the  institu- 
tion had  increased  during  the  time  of  President  Dun- 
ster  to  at  least  a  thousand  pounds  sterling,  besides 
annuities  and  grants  of  land."  The  fact  is,  that  the 
whole  amount  of  the  available  funds  of  the  College 
from  all  sources,  during  the  first  eighteen  years  of 
its  existence,  certainly  did  not  exceed  fourteen  hun- 
dred, and  probably  was  less  than  one  thousand 
pounds.  This  had  been  expended  in  raising  and  re- 
pairing the  building,  and  in  providing  for  the  current 
expenses  of  the  institution.  The  actual  state  of 
the  funds,  at  that  period,  is  established  beyond  ques- 
tion by  a  document  purporting  to  be  "  Jnforma- 

*  See  his  Will,  in  Middlesex  Probate  Records. 


HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  23 

tion  of  the  present  Necessities  of  the  College"  given   CHAPTER 
by   the   Corporation    and    Overseers    to    the  General  — 
Court,  signed  by  John  Endecott,  Governor,  and  dated 
the  9th  of  May,   1655. 

After  stating  the  lamentable  condition  of  the  Col- 
lege building,  which,  unless  repaired,  was  not  tenant- 
able,  it  proceeds ;  "  All  the  estate  the  College  hath 
(as  appears  by  the  inventory  thereof)  is  only  its  pres- 
ent building,  library,  and  a  few  utensils,  with  the 
press  and  some  parcels  of  land  (none  of  which  can, 
with  any  reason,  or  to  any  benefit,  be  sold,  to  help 
in  the  premises),  and  in  real  revenue  about  twelve 
pounds  per  annum  (which  is  a  small  pittance  to  be 
shared  among  four  fellows),  besides  fifteen  pounds 
per  annum,  which,  by  the  donors'  appointment,  is  for 
scholarships."* 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  II. 


24  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Presidency  of  Charles  Chauncy.  —  Previous  Events  of  his  Life. — 
Accepts  the  Office  on  the  Importunity  of  the  General  Court.  — 
Their  Promises  of  Support.  —  Not  fulfilled.  —  His  Poverty.  — 
Embarrassed  State  of  the  Finances  of  the  Seminary.  —  Ruinous 
State  of  its  Buildings.  —  Noble  Conduct  of  the  Town  of  Portsmouth. 

—  Its  Effects  on  Massachusetts.  —  Leonard  Hoar  chosen  President. 

—  His   previous    History.  —  Circumstances  under  which  he   was 
elected.  —  Charter  of  1672.  — Its  Fate.  —  President  Hoar's  Difficul- 
ties.—  Conduct  of  Oakes  in  respect  to  them.  —  Parallelism  of  the 
Fortunes  of  Hoar    and   Oakes.  —  Hoar  resigns.  —  Urian    Oakes 
chosen  President.  —  His  Conduct. — Difficulty  in  filling  President's 
Chair.  —  Patronage  of  the  General  Court. 

CHAPTER       CHARLES  CHAUNCY,  who   succeeded  Mr.   Dunster 

! —  in  the   Presidency  of  the  College,  deserves  particular 

commemoration,  on  account  of  his  talents,  his  suffer- 
ings, and  his  services. 

chauncy's  While  in  England,  he  was  so  much  distinguished 
for  his  learning,  as  to  be  chosen  Professor  of  Greek, 
and  afterwards  of  Hebrew,  in  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge. He  seems,  however,  not  to  have  possess- 
ed the  stern,  uncompromising,  self-sacrificing  spirit, 
which  characterized  his  predecessor.  In  England, 
having  opposed  the  erecting  of  a  rail  round  the 
communion  table,  and  the  kneeling  at  the  sacrament, 
and  being  prosecuted  for  schism,  he  recanted  in 
open  court ;  and  acknowledged,  that  "  kneeling  at  the 
sacrament  was  a  commendable  gesture,  and  "  that  a 
rail  in  the  chancel,  with  a  bench  for  kneeling,  was 
a  decent  and  convenient  ornament ; "  and  promised 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  25 

never,  by  word,  or  deed,  to  oppose  any  other  of  the   CHAPTER 
laudable  rites  of  the  Church  of  England."*     For  this  '- 


recantation  he  is  said  never  to  have  forgiven  him- 
self. His  course  in  this  country,  however,  displayed 
a  like  yielding  spirit.  For,  being  conscientiously 
wedded  to  the  belief,  that  immersion  in  baptism, 
and  celebrating  the  Lord's  supper  in  the  evening, 
were  true  Scriptural  doctrines,  he  refused  to  settle 
at  Plymouth,!  when  invited,  on  account  of  the  dif- 
ferent belief  of  that  church ;  and  persisted  in  his 
refusal,  notwithstanding  that  they  offered,  by  way  of 
compromise,  that  he  and  his  colleague,  Mr.  Reyner, 
might  each  baptize  in  his  own  mode.  Yet  after- 
wards, on  being  invited  to  the  Presidency,  he  made 
no  difficulty  in  accepting  the  office  on  the  express 
condition  of  "  forbearing  to  disseminate  or  publish 
any  thing,  on  either  of  those  tenets,  and  promising 
not  to  oppose  the  received  doctrines  therein." 

Previously  to  his  emigration  from  England,  Chauncy 
had  been  a  settled  minister  at  Ware.     After  the  suc- 
cesses of  the  Republicans  had  subdued  the  persecuting 
spirit  of  the   English  hierarchy,  he  received  an  invi- 
tation from  his  former  people  to  resume  his  connex- 
ion with  them.     This  he  had  resolved  to  accept,  and 
was  preparing  to  return   to  his  native  country,  when    1 6  5  4 . 
he  was  induced  to  abandon  his  intention,  by  "the  ve-     No*-2- 
hement  importunity"  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College.! 
The  negotiation  with  him  had  been  conducted  under  Accepts 
the  auspices  of  the  General  Court,  who  passed  several  dency. 
votes,  indicative  of  their  intention  to  give  a  permanent 
salary  to  the  President,  and  of  a  disposition  to  yield 
an  efficient  support  to  the  seminary.     By  the  urgency 

*  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  First  Series,  Vol.  X.  p.  172. 
t  See  Peirce's  History,  p.  22.    J  See  Appendix,  No.  IV. 

VOL.    I.  4 


26 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   of  the  agents   of  the   Overseers,  he  was  induced  to 
-  accept  the  presidency. 

Nothing  seems  to  have  occurred  to  mar  the  pros- 
perous course  of  his  official  career,  except,  in  the  lan- 
guage   of  his  lineal   descendant  and  biographer,  the 
His  scanty    late   Dr.    Charles    Chauncy,   "  his    shamefully   scanty 

support.  J  '  * 

support,  owing,  not  to  inability  in  the  Province,  but 
to  the  niggardly  dispositions  of  its  representatives  in 
the  General  Court.  A  temper,"  he  adds,  "  which 
has  been  too  much  since  greatly  hurtful  to  the  inter- 
ests of  learning  at  the  College."*  Increase  Mather, 
in  a  similar  strain,  says ;  "  After  he  (Chauncy)  was 
President  of  the  College,  the  country  was  not  so 
grateful  to  him,  as  it  ought  to  have  been ;  nor  could 
he  have  subsisted,  if  he  had  not  received  supplies 
from  England,  out  of  estate  he  left  there. "f 
1655.  These  censures  were  not  undeserved.  A  year 
had  not  elapsed,  before  President  Chauncy  found, 
that  his  salary  was  inadequate  to  his  support ;  and  in 
October,  1655,  he  petitioned  the  General  Court,  in- 
timating to  them  their  promise  of  "  a  liberal  main- 
tenance," and  stating,  that  he  had  already  expended 
upwards  of  an  hundred  pounds  out  of  his  estate,  in 
the  subsistence  of  his  family ;  and  that  his  country 
pay,  in  Indian  corn,  could  not  be  turned  into  food  and 
clothing  without  great  loss.  He  prayed,  therefore,  that 
they  would  provide  for  him  according  to  his  present 
necessities ;  that  "  God  may  not  be  dishonored,  nor 
the  country  blemished,  nor  your  petitioner  and  his 
family  cast  upon  temptations,  and  enforced  to  look 
out  to  benefit  his  condition."  J 


*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  X.  p.  174. 
f  Ibid.  Vol.  IX.  p.  156.    J  See  Appendix,  No.  IV. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  27 

The  result  of  this  application  is  not  known.     There   CHAPTER 


is  no  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  it  was,  in  any  '- — 

important  respect  successful,  since,  in  1663,  he  again  petitions 
presented  to  the  General  Court  his  many  "  grievances  IQQ^ 
and  temptations,"  stating,  "  that  his  salary  was  not 
sufficient  for  the  comfortable  supply  of  his  family  with 
necessary  food  and  raiment ;  that  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  expend  his  own  estate,  and  besides  had 
been  brought  greatly  into  debt ;  that  the  provision  for 
the  President  was  not  suitable,  being  without  land 
to  keep  either  a  horse  or  cow  upon,  or  habitation 
to  be  dry  or  warm  in  ;  whereas,  in  English  Univer- 
sities, the  President  is  allowed  diet,  as  well  as  stipend, 
and  other  necessary  provisions,  according  to  his  wants." 
The  committee  of  the  General  Court  on  this  peti- 
tion, report,  that  "  they  conceive  the  country  have  done 
honorably  towards  the  petitioner,  and  that  his  parity 
with  English  Colleges  is  not  pertinent."  A  better 
spirit  was,  however,  displayed  by  the  Deputies,  who 
nonconcured  the  report  of  the  committee,  and  voted 
that  he  should  receive,  out  of  the  public  treasury, 

five  pounds  a  quarter.     On  a  reference  of  this  vote  to  Petition  re- 
jected. 
the  magistrates  for  their  consent,  they  ordered  to  be 

indorsed   upon   it,     "  The     magistrates    consent    not 
thereto."* 

President  Chauncy  had  then  passed  his  seventieth 
year,  and  continued  to  his  death,  which  occurred 

nine   years   afterwards,  in  the  service  of  the  College,     1672. 

ii.          r-ii-i  •  ij         j  Feb- 19- 

laborious,   faithful,  necessitous,   and  dependent. 

The  last  page  in  this  painful  history  contains  the 
petition  of  Elnathan  Chauncy,  son  of  the  President, 
presented,  after  his  decease,  to  the  General  Court, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IV. 


28  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   in  which  he  states,  that  "  his  father  had  been  servant 
to   the  country,  in  the  above  trust,  seventeen  years, 


in  all  which   time    he   had   never  received  for  allow- 


petition. 

ance  any  other  payment  than  what  the  country  rate 
brought  in,  which  had  greatly  impoverished  his  family, 
through  the  great  straits  they  had  been  put  into;  so 
that,  had  he  not  had  some  relief  in  some  other  kind, 
they  could  not  have  subsisted  ;  and  now,  after  his 
decease,  his  children  are  left  in  a  very  poor  condition, 
especially  one  brother,  that,  through  the  Lord's  afflict- 
ing hand,  is  so  far  distempered,  as  to  render  him 
wholly  unable  to  do  any  thing  towards  his  own  main- 
tenance, and  so  will  be  an  annual  charge  ;  and  it 
is  a  great  addition  to  this  so  great  affliction,  that  his 
poor  brothers  have  not  in  their  hands  to  relieve 
him." 

The  petitioner  asks  nothing  for  himself,  nothing 
for  the  other  members  of  President  Chauncy's  family, 
but  only  that  what  is  now  due  of  his  father's  salary 
"  may  be  paid  in  money,"  and  that  "  our  dear  dis- 
tressed brother  may  not  perish  for  want  of  support." 

On  this  petition,  the  magistrates  grant,  that  the 
arrearages  due  should  be  paid  in  money  ;  and  the 
Deputies,  assenting,  did  further  grant,  that  ten  pounds 
a  year  should  be  paid  by  the  treasurer  of  the  country 
to  the  deacons  of  Cambridge,  for  the  support  of  the 
said  petitioner's  brother  ;  to  which  the  magistrates 
found  it  in  their  hearts  to  assent. 

These  details  have  been  thought  due  to  the  memo- 
ry of  the  two  Presidents,  Dunster  and  Chauncy, 
who,  for  learning,  talent,  and  fidelity,  have  been  sur- 
passed by  no  one  of  their  successors  ;  who  exceeded 
every  one  of  them  in  sufferings,  sacrifices,  and  priva- 
tions ;  and  whose  fate  has  been  little  known,  and 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  29 


of  consequence   had  little   sympathy.      And  yet  they   CHAPTER 

were  both  main  supports  of  the  institution  for  thirty  '. — 

years,  in  times  when  its  friends  were  fewest  and  its 
condition  humblest ;  and  were  not  inferior  to  any  of 
its  friends,  patrons,  or  officers,  in  establishing  its 
character  and  perpetuating  its  usefulness.  * 

During   the    greater   part   of   President  Chauncy's  Political 

1  r  J         embarrass 

administration,  the  political  embarrassments  of  the  mente- 
Colony,  consequent  upon  the  restoration  of  the  English 
monarchy,  materially  affected  the  interests  of  the  Col- 
lege. A  political  revolution,  which  threatened  the 
dissolution  of  the  colonial  charter,  and  with  it  an 
eventful  change  in  all  the  civil  rights,  liberties,  and 
properties  of  the  inhabitants,  could  not  but  have  a 
deep  influence  on  the  prospects  of  the  institution. 
Circumstances  excited  a  peculiar  anxiety  about  its 
fate.  The  inquiries  made  concerning  it,  in  1665,  by 
the  Commissioners  of  Charles  the  Second,  indicated 
that  its  existence  and  importance  had  not  escaped 
the  searching  eyes  of  the  English  Council  of  State. 
To  seize  upon  the  seminaries  of  education  was  ap- 
prehended to  be  the  policy  of  the  parent  state,  as 
auxiliary  to  that  change  in  the  religious  relations  of 
the  country,  which  was  avowedly  designed  by  openly 
introducing  the  service  'and  forms  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  public  worship. 

In  addition  to  these  external  discouragements,  the  Financial 

embarrass- 

particular  condition  of  the  seminary,  during  the  latter  m^is. 
part   of  Chauncy's    presidency,  was  critical  and   ap- 
parently  hopeless.     Its   buildings  were   "  ruinous  and 
almost  irreparable,"   "  the  President  was  aged,"  "  the 
number  of  scholars  short  of  what  they  had  been  in 

*  See  the  archives  of  the  General  Court. 


30  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   former  days."     All  its  efficient  funds  did  not  amount 

'- —  to  one  thousand  pounds  ;  without  a  new  building  its 

situation  was  desperate.  The  political  difficulties  of 
the  Colony  precluded  any  expectation  of  pecuniary 
aid  from  the  General  Court,  who,  in  their  best  estate, 
had  never  been  characterized  by  a  disposition  to  give 
aid  in  money.  The  liberality  of  individuals  was  its 
only  resource.  Even  among  these,  there  did  not  early 
appear  any  active  spirit  for  its  relief. 

Ports-  In  this  emergency  the  town  of  Portsmouth,  in  New 

N.  H./its     Hampshire,  first  extended  a  helping;  hand  to  the  in- 

noblecon-  *  ' 

duct.  stitution.  The  inhabitants  of  that  town,  in  an  ad- 
1669.  dress  to  the  General  Court,  dated  in  May,  1669,  after 
expressing  their  thankfulness  for  the  protection  ex- 
tended to  them  by  Massachusetts,  and  saying,  "  that, 
although  they  had  articled  with  them  for  exemption 
from  taxes,  yet  they  had  never  articled  with  God  and 
their  own  consciences  for  exemption  from  gratitude," 
which  "  while  they  were  studying  how  to  demon- 
strate, the  loud  groans  of  the  sinking  College  came 
to  their  ears ;  and  hoping  that  their  example  might 
provoke  the  rest  of  the  country  to  an  holy  emulation 
in  so  good  a  work,  and  the  General  Court  itself 
vigorously  to  act,  for  the  diverting  the  omen  of  ca- 
lamity, which  its  destruction  "would  be  to  New  Eng- 
land," declare,  that  a  voluntary  collection  had  been 
made  among  their  inhabitants,  which  authorized  the 
town  to  pledge  the  payment  of  "  sixty  pounds  ster- 
ling a  year  for  seven  years  ensuing  ;  to  be  improved 
by  the  Overseers  of  the  College  for  the  advancement 
of  good  literature  there." 

This  noble  example  was  not  lost  on  Massachusetts. 
Efficient  measures  were  immediately  adopted  for 
raising  subscriptions  in  the  Colony,  and  an  agent  was 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  g] 

despatched  to  England  to  solicit  aid  from  its  friends   CHAPTER 
there,   with   letters   and  an   urgent   address   to   them 

*  O  • — • 

from  the  Overseers.  These  exertions  produced,  in 
the  course  of  the  ensuing  year,  subscriptions  for 
more  than  two  thousand  six  hundred  pounds.*  Un- 
der which  encouragement,  in  1672,  authority  was 
given  for  the  commencement  of  a  new  edifice.  Sub- 
scriptions, however,  were  more  easily  made,  than 
collected.  Great  delays  and  delinquencies  occurred. 
The  General  Court  were  compelled  to  interfere ; 
and,  after  efforts  for  five  or  six  years,  first  by  urging, 
then  by  threatening,  and  at  last,  by  actually  author- 
izing the  delinquent  subscriptions  to  be  collected 
by  distress,  they  finally  succeeded  in  completing  the 
erection  of  a  new  College,  in  1682,  ten  years  after 
it  had  been  commenced. 

The  embarrassments  of  the  College  at  this  period  Leonard 

0  x  Hoar  cho- 

were  not  exclusively  pecuniary.  In  July,  1672,  Leon-  ^tpresi' 
ard  Hoar,  a  clergyman,  and  a  physician,  was  elected  1672 
President.  Though  not  born  in  the  Colony,  he  was  a 
graduate  of  the  College,  but  had  been  resident  in 
England  nearly  twenty  years.  He  left  England,  on 
hearing  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Chauncy,  with  the  design 
of  offering  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  vacant  chair. 
For  this  purpose,  he  brought  with  him  recommenda- 
tions from  thirteen  clergymen,  all  of  whom  were  distin- 
guished friends  of  the  Colony,  and  had  been  efficient 
agents  for  procuring  subscriptions  in  that  country  for 
the  College  edifice.  Collins,  who  then  acted  as  colo- 
nial agent  in  Great  Britain,  also  recommended  him,  for 
employment  in  the  College,  to  Governor  Leverett. 

For  these  reasons,  or  some  other,  the  General  Court 
seem  to  have  taken  a  lively  interest  in  his  election ; 
opening  their  hearts  so  far  as  to  add  fifty  pounds 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  V. 


32  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  to  the  hundred  they  were  accustomed  annually  to 
— — r  grant,  "  on  condition  that  Dr.  Hoar  be  the  man 
chosen  for  the  vacant  President's  place."  Under 
these  auspices,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Corporation, 
and  approved  by  the  Overseers.  In  the  ensuing 
October,  the  General  Court  passed  also  a  new 

charier  of  College  charter.  By  this  act  the  name  of  the  Cor- 
poration was  changed  from  "  The  President  and  Fel- 
lows" to  that  of  "  The  President,  Fellows,  and  Treas- 
urer." The  number  of  its  members  was  not  in- 
creased. It  was  permitted  to  hold  personal  property 
to  any  amount  whatsoever,  and  real  estate  to  the 
value  of  jive  hundred  pounds  per  annum.  Ten  me- 
nial servants  of  the  Corporation  were  exempted  from 
all  civil  and  military  exercises,  and  the  personal  estates 
of  the  members  of  the  Corporation  and  their  officers, 
not  exceeding  one  hundred  pounds  a  man,  were 
exempted  from  taxes  ;  and  any  three  of  the  Corpo- 
ration, of  which  the  President  was  to  be  one,  had 
committed  to  them  full  power  to  fine,  sconce,  or 
otherwise  correct  any  officer  or  member  of  said  So- 
ciety, according  to  the  laws  of  the  country ;  and 
for  this  purpose,  taking  a  constable,  to  enter  into 
any  house  licensed  for  public  entertainment,  where 
they  should  be  informed,  or  have  reason  to  suspect, 
enormities  were  plotting  or  acting  by  any  members 
of  said  Society. 

Although  this  charter  is  entered  at  large  in  the  jour- 
nal of  the  General  Court,  it  does  not  appear  in  the 
records  of  the  seminary ;  nor  is  any  notice  taken  of  it 
in  those  records,  nor  in  the  general  history  of  the  times. 
The  probability  is,  that  it  was  the  work  of  President 
Hoar,  and  had  some  connexion  with  that  evanescent 
influence,  which  he  seemed,  in  the  year  1672,  to  have 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  33 

acquired  among  the  members  of  the  General  Court;*   CHAPTER 
and,    in    consequence    of    that    unpopularity,   which  _  ' 
immediately   followed    his    entering    upon    the     gov-  • 
ernment  of  the    institution,  its  authority   was  never 
recognised   by    the   Corporation.     It    is  certain,  that 
they   never   assumed    the   name     given    by   the    act, 
and    there    exists    no    evidence    of  their   having,    in 
a    single  .  instance,    modified    their    proceedings    ac- 
cording   to   its   provisions.     A   year   did   not    elapse, 
after   the    election   of  President    Hoar,    before    there 
appeared    "  uncomfortable   motions   and   debates"    in 
the    College  ;    and   a   second    year   had    not    passed, 


before  the  General  Court  summoned  into  their  pres-  Hoar. 
ence   the   Corporation,  Overseers,  President,  and  stu- 
dents ;  and,  after  a  full  hearing,  notwithstanding  that     1674. 
Dr.  Hoar,  in  consideration  of  the  poverty  of  the  stu- 
dents, voluntarily  relinquished  fifty  pounds  of  his  an- 
nual salary,  the  Court  f  passed  this  most  extraordinary 
vote  ;  "  That,  if  the  College  be  found  in  the  same  Ian-  Vote  of 
guishing  condition  at  the  next  session,  the  President  Court. 
is  concluded  to  be  dismissed  without  further  hearing." 
After  this  decisive  encouragement  to  malcontents,  it  President 
was  not  difficult  to  anticipate  the  result.     The  Col-  signs.  re 
lege   continued  to  languish,   and   Dr.   Hoar   resigned      675% 
his  office  in  the  March  ensuing. 

There  is  a  studied  obscurity  thrown  over  the  de- 
fects, if  there  were  really  any,  in  the  character  of 
Dr.  Hoar.  That  he  was  a  scholar  and  a  Christian, 
a  man  of  talent  and  of  great  moral  worth,  is  asserted. 
Yet,  for  some  reason,  the  young  men  of  the  College 
took  a  prejudice  against  him,  and,  says  Cotton  Mather, 
"  did  all  they  could  to  ruin  his  reputation."  The 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXV1II. 
f  See  General  Court  Records,  October,  1674. 
VOL.    I,  5 


34  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  cause  of  this  prejudice  is  unexplained  to  this  day. 
— '- —  "  I  can  scarce  tell  how,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "  but 
he  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  some  that  made  a,  figure 
in  that  neighbourhood."*  "In  a  day  of  temptation, 
which  was  now  upon  them,  several  good  men  did  un- 
happily countenance  the  ungoverned  youth  in  their 
ungovernableness."  It  is  not  difficult,  from  the  re- 
cords of  the  College,  to  gather  to  whom  Cotton  Ma- 
ther here  alludes ;  and  it  is  due  to  the  memory  of 
Dr.  Hoar  to  say,  that  the  conduct  of  those  "  good 
men,  who  made  a  figure  in  that  neighbourhood,"  and 
thus  encouraged  the  discontented  youth,  greatly  ex- 
ceeded, in  dereliction  of  incumbent  duty,  any  thing 
that  appears,  or  was  ever  suggested,  against  him. 

Dr.  Hoar  was,  in  a  manner,  a  stranger  in  the 
country.  He  had  come  strongly  recommended,  seek- 
ing the  presidency.  The  General  Court  had  thrown 
their  whole  weight  into  the  scale  in  favor  of  his  elec- 
tion. His  success,  it  was  asserted  at  the  time,  had 
occasioned  a  disappointment  to  "  the  emulation  of 
some  expecting  the  preferment."  This,  probably,  is 
the  clue  to  all  the  difficulties  which  assailed  and  over- 
came President  Hoar.  He  was  chosen  in  July,  1672. 
A  year  had  not  elapsed  before  the  students  began 
"  to  strive  to  make  him  odious."  In  the  midst  of  these 

Unan         difficulties,    Urian    Oakes,    Thomas    Shepard,    Joseph 

Oakc;;  re- 
signs IIH      Brown,  and   John   Richardson,    members  of  the   Cor- 

tcut  in  the 

tionpora~  poration,  all  resigned  their  seats  at  that  Board,  t 
leaving  it  without  a  constitutional  majority,  and 
with  no  quorum  to  act,  and  the  President  without 
support.  They  all  fall  within  the  description  of 
11  good  men,  who  made  a  figure  in  that  neighbourhood, 

*  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  Part  I.  §  5.          f  See  Appendix,  No.  VL 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  35 

and  ivho,  in  a  day  of  temptation,  encouraged"  the  con-  CHAPTER 

tiimacious.     Whether   emulation,   or   hope   of  prefer-  ! 

ment,  had  any  influence  in  this  course  of  conduct, 
must  be  a  matter  of  inference.  It  is  certain,  that 
no  conduct  of  Dr.  Hoar  could  justify,  or  even  apolo- 
gize, for  such  a  resignation  of  a  majority  of  the  Cor- 
poration in  the  actual  state  of  disorderly  combination  in 
the  College.  Their  resignation  occasioned  an  alarm 
in  the  Board  of  Overseers ;  who  petitioned  them  to 
continue,  or  at  least  assist  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Corporation,  and  finally  warned  the  remaining  mem- 
bers, that,  unless  their  numbers  were  filled  up,  they 
would  endanger  their  charter  privileges.  Oakes,  Shep- 
ard,  and  the  rest  persisted  in  their  resignation.  The 
Corporation  reelect  Oakes  and  Shepard,  and  they 
persist  in  not  accepting  the  trust,  until  the  15th  of 
March,  1675.  On  this  day,  Dr.  Hoar  sent  in  his 
resignation  of  the  presidency.  On  the  same  day, 
Oakes  and  Shepard  took  their  seats  as  members  of 
the  Corporation,  and  the  seat  Dr.  Hoar  had  quitted 
was  given  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Oakes.  An  instant  accept- 
ance of  the  office  would  have  probably  given  rise 
to  suspicions,  which,  considering  the  part  he  had 
taken  relative  to  the  difficulties  of  his  predecessor,  he 
must  have  been  willing  to  avoid.  Being  importuned 
to  accept  the  presidency,  he  refused,  but  took  the  Oakes  ac- 
superintendence  of  the  College,  with  the  rank  and  superin- 
duties  of  President,  which  he  held  four  years.  During.  1675. 
this  period  the  Rev.  John  Rogers  was  elected  Presi- 
dent, but  declined ;  and  William  Stoughton,  then  in 
England,  was  authorized  to  provide  a  President  of  the 
College  in  Europe,  in  which  he  could  not  succeed. 

In    February,    1679,    Oakes,   being  again   elected,  Amuiic 

presidency. 

accepted    the    office,   which   he    held   till    his    death,     1679. 


36  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  in  1681.  In  the  mean  time  Dr.  Hoar  had  died,  in 
'  obscurity  and  sorrow,  impressed  with  a  deep  sense 
of  the  wrongs  he  had  sustained,  and,  as  was  said, 
with  a  broken  heart.* 

There  was  a  singular  parallelism  in  the  fortunes 
of  Mr.  Oakes  and  Dr.  Hoar,  of  a  nature  not  unlikely 
to  excite  an  "  emulation"  between  them  in  respect 
to  the  presidency  of  the  College ;  an  office,  which 
at  that  time  placed  the  incumbent  at  the  head  of  the 
clergy,  who  then  possessed  almost  a  predominating 
influence  in  the  Colony.  Neither  of  them  was  a  na- 
tive ;  both  were  brought  into  the  country  during  their 
childhood  by  their  parents.  They  had  been  contem- 
poraneously members  of  the  College ;  the  former  hav- 
ing graduated  in  1649,  the  latter  in  1650.  Both  had 
returned  to  England  soon  after  taking  their  degrees. 
Both  had  been  settled  in  the  ministry  there ;  had 
been  ejected  for  nonconformity ;  and  again  emigrated 
to  this  country  within  a  year  of  each  other ;  Oakes, 
in  1671,  on  an  invitation  from  the  church  at  Cam- 
bridge to  become  its  pastor ;  Hoar,  in  1 672,  on  a 
like  invitation  to  become  its  pastor  from  the  Old  South 
Church  in  Boston. 

The  former,  being  settled  in  Cambridge,  and  a  fel- 
low of  the  Corporation,  before  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Hoar, 
and  possessing  qualities  suited  to  the  appointment, 
had  probably  ingratiated  himself  with  the  students 
and  with  persons  of  influence  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  College,  and  had  been  regarded  by  them  as  the 
natural  successor  of  President  Chauncy ;  an  expecta- 
tion which  it  is  not  unlikely  his  own  heart  fostered. 
The  strong  recommendations  brought  by  Dr.  Hoar, 

*  Eliot's  Biography,  articles  "  Hoar  "  and  "  Oakes." 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  37 

and  the  efficient  declaration  in  his  favor  by  the  Gen-  CHAPTER 

eral  Court,  in  a  manner  compelled  his  election.     The  '• — 

event  disappointed  both  the  students  and  Mr.  Oakes, 
and  led  the  former,  in  the  language  of  Cotton  Ma- 
ther, to  "  turn  cudweeds  and  travestie  whatever  he 
did  and  said,  with  a  design  to  make  him  odious," 
and  the  latter  to  countenance  these  proceedings,  by 
relinquishing  his  seat  in  the  Corporation  until  Dr. 
Hoar  had  resigned.  "  The  emulation  of  some  seeking 
the  preferment,"  to  which  Mather  attributes  the  diffi- 
culties of  Hoar,  is  applicable  to  no  one  except  Oakes. 
It  appears  also,  that,  on  some  account,  Oakes  was 
suffering  about  this  time  under  a  great  mental  excite- 
ment, which,  from  the  connexion  in  which  it  is  men- 
tioned, seems  to  have  reference  to  this  very  subject. 
Governor  Leverett,  in  a  letter  written  in  August,  1 674, 
relating  to  the  troubles  of  Dr.  Hoar,  after  referring 
them  to  "  the  animosities  and  perverse  spirit  of  his 
opposers,"  proceeds  to  state,  that  "  Mr.  Oakes  hath 
had  a  distemper  hang  upon  him,  which  hath  much 
weakened  him,  the  greatest  occasion  of  which  is,  I 
think,  some  exercise  of  mind."* 

That  Oakes  had,  or  believed  himself  suspected  to 
have,  some  agency  in  the , discontent  of  the  College 
and  the  troubles  of  Dr.  Hoar,  may  be  surmised  from 
the  following  entry  in  the  Journal  of  Judge  Sewall, 
who  was  at  this  time  a  resident  graduate  of  the  Col- 
lege. "5  June,  1674.  Mr.  Oakes  gave  me  to  un- 
derstand, that,  though  he  respected  and  loved  me  as 
formerly,  yet  he  desired  that  I  would  refrain  coming 
to  his  house,  and  that  he  did  it  se  defendendo,  lest 
he  should  be  mistrusted  to  discourage  and  dissettle  me." 

*  Hutchinson's  Collection  of  State  Papers,  p.  464. 


38  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       That,  in  the  opinion  of  Sewall,  the  difficulties  of  the 

'. —  seminary   were    not   exclusively    attributable    to    Dr. 

Hoar,  is  to  be  gathered  from  another  expression  in  his 
Journal,  under  the  date  of  the  16th  of  October,  1674. 
"  By  Mr.  Richardson's  means  I  was  called  upon  to 
speak.  The  sum  of  my  speech  was,  that  the  causes 
of  the  lowness  of  the  College  were  external,  as  well 
as  internal."  However  questionable,  in  respect  to 
Dr.  Hoar,  the  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Oakes  may 
have  been,  the  character  given  of  him  by  Cotton 
Mather,  as  "  faithful,  learned,  and  indefatigable  in 
all  the  services  of  a  President,"  seems  to  have  been 
well  deserved. 

At  this  period,  the  difficulty  of  finding  persons  suit- 
able and  willing  to  accept  that  office  was  great. 
In  1681  the  Rev.  Increase  Mather  was  chosen,  and 
declined.  In  the  same  year  the  Rev.  Samuel  Torrey, 
of  Weymouth,  was  chosen,  and  also  declined.  In 
1683,  the  Rev.  John  Rogers  was  again  chosen,  ac- 
cepted, and  was  inaugurated.  He  did  not  survive 
that  event  one  year. 

In  1684,  the  chair  was  offered  to  the  Rev.  Joshua 

Moody,  who  declined  it.  (  And  on  the   llth  of  June, 

Math"6      1685,   the  Rev.   Increase  Mather  was  requested  "  to 

President.    taj^e  Special  care  of  the  government  of  the  College, 

and,  for  that  end,  to  act  as  President  until  a  farther 

settlement  be  made." 

Mr.  Mather  retained  this  relation  sixteen  years ; 
during  eight  of  which  he  held  the  office  of  Pre- 
sident, although  non-resident  at  Cambridge.  The 
period,  which  elapsed  while  the  College  was  under  his 
superintendence,  is  the  most  interesting,  the  most 
critical,  and  the  most  decisive  of  its  destinies,  of  any 
in  its  history.  The  political  and  religious  parties  of 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  39 

the  country  were,  during  the  whole  time,  in  a  state  of   CHAPTER 

excitement  and  struggle.     The  College  became  one  of  ' — 

the  chief  arenas  and  objects  of  the  contests  of  both ; 
resulting  in  events  of  general  and  absorbing  interest. 

Before   entering  upon  the  topics,   however,   which  patronage 

*  i         i      •  •       •  i      i  i    of  the  Gen- 

Were    involved    in    those    contests,    it  is  orderly    and 

proper,  first,  to  turn  and  examine  the  nature  and  de-  . 
gree  of  patronage  the  College  received,  during  the 
period  now  under  consideration,  from  the  State  ;  de- 
nominated, in  this  early  time,  "  the  country  "  or  "  the 
jurisdiction,"  afterwards  the  "  Colony "  or  "  Prov- 
ince," of  which  the  General  Court  was,  in  every 
period,  the  organ  and  representative  and  supreme 
legislature.  During  these  first  seventy  years  of  its 
existence,  the  College  is  indebted  to  the  Court  for 
many  instances  of  countenance,  encouragement,  and 
support. 

Their  vote  in  1 636  planted  the  first  germ  of  its  being. 
Their  acts,  in  1642,  1650,  and  1657,*  gave  to  it  an  effi- 
cient corporate  form  and  powers.  They  are  entitled  to 
be  denominated  its  earliest  friends  and  constant  patrons. 
The  character  of  "founder,"  the  General  Court  never 
claimed.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  year  1661,  in  an 
address  to  the  Commissioners  of  Charles  the  Second, 
they  expressly  concede  the  title  of  "  principal  foun- 
der "  to  John  Harvard. 

Of  the  General  Court,  and  of  the  nature  and  de- 
gree of  patronage  which  the  College  received  from 
them,  during  its  early  years,  justice  and  truth  require 
us  to  speak  in  terms  of  respect  and  honor ;  although, 
in  fact,  their  favor  and  bounty  were  only  a  refined 
and  intelligent  self-interest,  supporting  an  institution, 
with  whose  prosperity  their  own,  and  that  of  their 
country,  were  inseparably  identified. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVIII. 


40 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER 
II. 


Grants  of 
money. 


Grants  of 
land. 


In  respect  to  grants  of  money,  the  patronage  of  the 
General  Court,  during  this  first  period  of  seventy 
years,  certainly  never  exceeded,  and  there  is  no 
known  documentary  evidence,  that  it  ever  equalled, 
the  annual  payment  of  £100  until  the  year  1673,  and 
that  of  £150  during  the  subsequent  years  of  this 
period.  These  payments,  with  the  income  of  the 
Ferry,  were  the  only  resources  of  the  institution,  of 
a  permanent  character,  for  the  support  of  the  Pre- 
sident and  officers.  The  deficiency  was  made  up 
by  assessments  on  the  students.  With  the  exception 
of  this  annual  stipend,  there  is  no  evidence  of  grants 
of  money,  or  even  transfers  of  rates,  except  at  times, 
when  the  treasury  of  the  Colony  actually  possessed  an 
amount  greatly  exceeding  such  grant  or  transfer,  re- 
ceived from  private  donations,  on  account  of  the  Col- 
lege. During  that  whole  period  its  officers  were 
dependent  for  daily  bread  upon  the  bounty  of  the 
General  Court.  They  always  stood  before  the  Court 
in  the  attitude  of  humble  suppliants,  destitute  of  the 
power  even  to  enforce  their  rights  ;  and  found,  by 
bitter  experience,  how  miserable  is  he  who  hangs  on 
a  sovereign's  favor,  be  that  sovereign  one  or  many, 
prince  or  people. 

In  respect  to  grants  of  land,  the  General  Court,  in 
1652,  gave  to  the  College  eight  hundred  acres,  and 
in  1653,  two  thousand  acres.  Both  grants  failed. 
In  1658  the  Court  attempted  to  indemnify  the  Col- 
lege for  this  loss,  by  granting  to  it  two  thousand 
one  hundred  acres  of  land,  being,  as  they  thought,  a 
part  of  their  share  of  the  plunder  accruing  from  their 
victory  over  the  Pequods.  The  Colony  of  Connecticut, 
however,  claimed  these  lands  as  their  own  portion  of 
the  spoils,  and  dispossessed  the  College  of  them ;  and  it 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  41 

is  not  known  or  believed,   that  the  College  obtained   CHAPTER 

any   thing   from   that  grant.     In   1683,  the   General  ! 

Court  made  another  attempt  to  patronize  the  College 
by  a  grant  of  one  thousand  acres  of  land  at  Merri- 
coneage.  This  grant,  however,  had  the  fate  of  its 
predecessors.  The  College  gained  nothing  by  it,  but 
a  lawsuit  and  a  judgment  disaffirming  its  title.  During 
the  first  seventy  years,  the  College  derived  no  aid  from 
the  General  Court  towards  the  erection  of  its  buildings 
or  the  increase  of  its  funds,  in  consequence  of  any 
grant  or  donation.  These  were  altogether  the  result 
of  individual  munificence.  So  that  the  whole  bounty 
of  that  body,  during  this  entire  period,  was  limited 
to  the  annual  payment,  at  first,  of  £  100,  and  after- 
ward £  150,  as  above  stated,  and  the  income  of  the 
Ferry. 

Neither  does  it  anywhere  appear  that  the  original 
grant  of  £  400  was  ever  specifically  paid.*  As  far  as 
can  now  be  ascertained,  the  above  annual  grants  were 
deemed  a  sufficient  fulfilment  of  that  vote. 

Let  not  these  statements  lead  to  the  conclusion, 
that  the  degree  of  patronage  extended  by  the  General 
Court  was  of  little  worth,  or  is  intended  to  be  under- 
valued. Notwithstanding  the  deficiency  in  direct  dona- 
tives, the  College  is  largely  indebted  to  them  for  the 
actual  prosperity,  to  which,  during  the  period  in  ques- 
tion, it  attained.  The  necessities  of  the  country  were 
extreme ;  its  available  resources  scanty  and  precarious. 
The  people  were  struggling  with  the  parent  State  for 
their  charters,  and  with  the  Indians  for  their  existence. 
Their  annual  revenues  were  regularly  exhausted. 
Surplus  they  had  none.  The  power,  of  raising  rev- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  VII. 
VOL.    I.  6 


42  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   enue  by  credit,  either  did  not  exist,  or  was  extreme- 
ii. 

-  ly  limited.     They  had  only  influence  and  authority. 

These  they  exerted  largely,  unsparingly,  and  efficiently 
for  its  support  and  advancement. 

In  respect  to  the  patronage  of  the  General  Court, 
it  cannot  fail  to  be  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  the 
College  to  be  assured,  that,  from  unquestionable 
documents  it  is  manifest,  that  neither  the  erection  of 
its  buildings,  nor  the  creation  of  its  funds,  added  any 
thing  to  the  embarrassments  of  the  country,  nor  were 
they  objects  of  any  appropriation  of  its  revenues  during 
the  whole  of  this  first  period  of  its  existence.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  manifest,  that  the  treasury  of  the 
Colony,  having  been  the  recipient  of  many  of  the  early 
donations  to  the  College,  was  not  a  little  aided  by  the 
convenience,  which,  in  the  poverty  of  the  time,  these 
available  funds  afforded  to  its  pecuniary  necessities. 
Some  of  those  funds,  although  received  by  the  treasury 
of  the  Colony  in  1647,  were  not  paid  over  to  the 
treasury  of  the  College,  until  1713;  then,  indeed,  the 
College  received  an  allowance  of  simple  interest  for 
the  delay. 

There  is  a  curious  evidence  of  the  opinion  enter- 
tained, on  this  subject,  by  the  Corporation  of  the 
College,  in  a  memorial  addressed  by  them  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  in  1697,  having  for  its  object  to  induce  the 
Court  to  aid  in  obtaining  a  charter  for  the  College  from 
the  King.  "  The  time  has  been,"  say  the  Corpora- 
tion in  this  memorial,  "  when  the  College  has  accom- 
modated this  Colony  with  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
not  repaid  to  this  hour ;  and  we  would  persuade  our- 
selves, that  this  Province  will,  in  point  of  gratitude, 
not  refuse  to  be  helpful  unto  the  good  settlement  of 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


43 


that  society,   on  which  the  welfare  of  the   public  so   CHAPTER 

much  depends."  ! 

With  regard,  therefore,  to  the  annual  allowance  of 
£100,  whereby  they  enabled  the  President  of  the 
College  simply  to  exist,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that 
there  was  not  probably  one  year  in  the  whole  seventy, 
in  which,  by  moneys  collected  from  friends  of  the 
institution  in  foreign  countries,  by  donations  of  its 
friends  in  this  country,  by  moneys  brought  by  students 
coming  from  other  colonies  for  education  here,  and, 
above  all,  by  furnishing  the  means  of  education  at 
home,  and  thus  preventing  the  outgoing  of  domestic 
wealth  for  education  abroad,  the  College  did  not  re- 
munerate the  Colony  for  that  poor  annual  stipend  five 
hundred  fold.  Well  and  truly  did  the  Earl  Bellamont, 
when  Governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1699,  say  to  the 
General  Court,  "  It  is  a  very  great  advantage  you 
have  above  other  provinces,  that  your  youth  are  not 
put  to  travel  for  learning,  but  have  the  Muses  at  their 
doors." 


HARVARD    HALL,  BUILT    IN   1682  ;    DESTROYED    BY    FIRE    IN    1764. 


44  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    III. 


Influence  of  the  Clergy  on  the  College.  —  Its  catholic  Spirit.  —  Causes 
of  this  traced  to  the  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Constitution  of  the 
Colony.  —  State  of  Religious  Parties,  and  their  Effect.  —  Influence 
of  Increase  and  Cotton  Mather  on  the  College  and  the  Colony.  — 
The  Administration  of  Andres,  and  its  Effect.  —  President  Mather's 
Agency  in  England.  —  His  Influence  in  procuring  the  Charter  of 
the  Colony  in  1692,  and  in  the  Appointments  under  it.  —  The 
Witchcraft  Delusion.  —  The  College  connected  with  it  by  the 
Mathers.  —  State  of  Parties,  which  arose  in  Consequence  of  that 
Charter. 


CHAPTER  THE  Congregational  clergy  next  demand  our  notice. 
To  them  this  institution  is  perhaps  more  indebted, 
than  to  any  other  class  of  men,  for  early  support,  if 
not  for  existence.  Of  money  and  lands,  they  had  little 
or  none,  a  few  of  them  only  excepted.  The  power 
which  they  possessed,  they  exerted  for  the  College 
with  zeal  and  affection.  They  promoted  its  interests 
by  every  instrument  of  authority,  and  every  legitimate 
form  of  influence,  at  their  command.  It  was  the 
frequent  topic  of  their  sermons,  and  the  constant 
object  of  their  prayers.  They  were  active  for  it  in 
private  solicitation,  and  urgent  in  public  assemblies. 
Its  founder  was  a  member  of  their  body.  Those  of 
them,  who  had  wealth,  contributed  according  to  their 
means,  in  money  or  in  books.  Everywhere  they 
were  its  unceasing  and  unwearied  advocates.  Pos- 
sessing, at  that  day,  a  predominating  influence  in  the 
Colony,  they  did  not  fail  to  associate  the  College  with 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  45 

the  all-absorbing  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  time.   CHAPTER 

They  denominated  it  "  the  School  of  the  Prophets,"  ! 

and  identified  its  success  with  all  the  prospects  and 
all  the  hopes  of  religion  in  the  Province.} 

Above  all,  we  are,  probably,  indebted  to  the  clergy 
for  the  catholic  and  liberal  spirit  breathed  into  its  first, 
and  into  each  successive,  Constitution ;  in  every  pe- 
riod its  vital  principle  and  distinguishing  characteris- 
tic ;  to  which  may  be  chiefly  ascribed  its  success  and 
prosperity. 

The  erection  of  a  seminary  of  learning,  particularly  E«'y  w>- 
if  it  have  for  its  object  instruction  in  theology,  is  of  of.t]}e.  in- 

*  CV '  stitution. 

all  opportunities  the  most  favorable  to  the  establish- 
ment of  sectarian  tenets,  if  such  exist  at  the  time  and 
have  influence.  Now  the  clergy  of  that  early  period 
were,  not  only  a  learned  and  wise,  but  eminently  a 
practical  body  of  men.  They  were  also  conscienti- 
ously imbued  with  certain  peculiar  religious  opinions, 
which  constituted  the  prevalent  doctrines  of  all  Prot- 
estant Christendom  in  that  day.  Their  influence  over 
the  statesmen  of  the  Colony  was  second  to  none  the 
world  ever  witnessed.  The  religion  of  both  was  not 
so  much  coincident,  as  identical.  Both  were  well 
apprized  of  the  advantages  resulting  to  worldly  power 
from  the  possession  and  control  of  the  seminaries  of 
education.  We  expect,  therefore,  on  opening  the 
several  charters,  which  form  the  Constitution  of  this 
University,  to  find  it,  with  certainty,  anchored  head 
and  stern,  secure  against  wind,  tide,  and  current, 
moored  firmly  on  all  the  points  which,  in  that  day, 
were  deemed  fixed  and  immutable.  We  expect  to 
find,  in  these  instruments,  some  "  form  of  sound 
words,"  some  "  creed,"  some  "  catechism,"  some 
"  medulla  theologize,"  established  as  the  standard  of 


46  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  religious  faith,  to  which  every  one,  entering  on  an 

! office  of  government  and  instruction,  shall  be  required 

to  swear  and  subscribe,  and,  at  the  hazard  of  perjury 
and  hypocrisy,  under  the  combined  temptations  of  loss 
of  place,  of  caste,  and  of  bread,  at  stated  periods  to 
renew  his  oath  and  subscription. 

Yet,  surprising  as  is  the  fact,  there  is  not,  in  any 
one  of  the  charters  that  form  the  Constitution  of  this 
College,  one  expression,  on  which  a  mere  sectarian 
spirit  can  seize  to  wrest  it  into  a  shackle  for  the 
human  soul.  The  idea  seems  never  to  have  entered 
the  minds  of  its  early  founders,  of  laying  conscience 
under  bonds  for  good  behaviour.  It  is  impossible, 
even  at  this  day,  when  the  sun  of  free  inquiry  is 
thought  to  be  at  its  zenith,  to  devise  any  terms  more 
unexceptionable,  or  better  adapted  to  assure  the  en- 
joyment of  equal  privileges  to  every  religious  sect  or 
party. 

The  first  Constitution  of  Harvard  College,  estab- 
lished in  1642,  in  enumerating  the  powers  granted 
and  the  objects  proposed  to  be  attained  by  its  foun- 
dation, makes  use  of  these  simple  and  memorable 
terms ;  "  To  make  and  establish  all  such  orders,  sta- 
tutes, and  constitutions,  as  they  shall  see  necessary 
for  the  instituting,  guiding,  and  furthering  of  the  said 
College,  and  the  several  members  thereof,  from  time 
to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and  learning."  Nor  does 
the  charter  of  1650,  although  it  somewhat  varies  the 
expressions,  introduce  any  thing  indicative  of  a  design 
to  give  the  institution  a  sectarian  bias.  Its  objects 
are  in  this  charter  stated  to  be,  "  the  advancement  of 
all  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences,"  and  "  the  edu- 
cation of  the  English  and  Indian  youth  of  this  country 
in  knowledge  and  godliness"  The  only  terms,  used 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  47 

in  either  of  these  charters  connecting  this  institution   CHAPTER 
with  the  religious  principle,  are  "piety"  and  " godli-  - 
ness  "  ;  terms  of  all   others   the   least  susceptible  of 
being  wrested  to  projects  merely  sectarian. 

In  the  conduct  of  the  College,  also,  the  fathers 
of  New  England  evidenced  a  singular  freedom  from 
sectarian  influence.  The  first  two  Presidents,  and 
the  only  ones  appointed  by  the  early  emigrants,  were 
known  unbelievers  in  points  of  religious  faith  to  which 
the  Congregational  clergy  of  that  time  rigidly  adhered. 

Those  emigrants  were  Psedobaptists  ;  that  is,  be- 
lievers in  infant  baptism  as  a  divine  rite.  Dunster 
was,  as  has  been  stated,  an  avowed  antipaedobaptist ; 
yet  he  was  chosen  and  continued  President  of  the 
seminary  fourteen  years  ;  and  would  never  have  been 
compelled  to  resign,  had  not  his  excited  zeal  for  his 
own  sectarian  faith  led  him,  in  a  moment  of  indis- 
cretion, to  overstep  the  bounds  of  prudence,  and  to 
bear  public  testimony,  in  the  church  at  Cambridge, 
against  infant  baptism. 

The  second  President,  Chauncy,  was  not  less  he- 
retical than  his  predecessor,  according  to  the  standard 
of  religious  faith  adopted  by  the  early  emigrants ; 
and  also  on  this  very  point  of  infant  baptism.  He 
did  not,  indeed,  like  Dunster,  hold  that  adults  were 
the  only  subjects  of  this  rite.  His  heresy  consisted 
in  this,  that,  whereas  the  prevailing  faith  among  the 
emigrants  was,  that  in  baptism  "  a  sprinkling  was 
sufficient,"  the  faith  of  President  Chauncy  was,  says 
the  historian  Hubbard,  "  that  the  infant  should  be 
washed  all  over."  "  An  opinion,"  he  adds,  "  not 
tolerable  in  this  cold  region,  and  impracticable  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year."  */ 

*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VI.  p.  544. 


48  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  The  original  seal  of  the  College  is  also  illustrative 
of  its  early  independence  of  a  sectarian  spirit.  At 
the  first  "  meeting  of  the  governors  of  the  College  " 
after  the  first  charter  was  obtained,  on  the  27th  of 
December,  1643,  a  College  seal  was  adopted,  having, 
as  at  present,  three  open  books  on  the  .field  of  an 
heraldic  shield,  with  the  motto  "  Veritas"  inscribed. 
The  books  were  probably  intended  to  represent  the 
Bible ;  and  the  motto  to  intimate,  that  in  the  Scrip- 
tures alone  important  truth  was  to  be  sought  and 
found,  and  not  in  words  of  man's  devising.  This  is  the 
only  College  seal  which  has  the  sanction  of  any  record.* 
Whether  this  or  any  other  indication  of  a  liberal 
spirit,  exhibited  by  the  clergy,  who,  in  that  day, 
guided  the  seminary,  had  given  offence,  does  not  ap- 
pear from  history.  It  does  however  appear,  that,  for 
some  cause,  the  Congregational  clergy  of  that  period 
were  subjected  to  the  charge  of  "dethroning  Christ 
and  setting  up  for  themselves,"!  made  against  them 
by  a  class  of  enthusiasts,  who  pretended  to  greater 
purity  and  a  more  evangelical  spirit.  Concerning 
which  class  of  enthusiasts,  Thomas  Shepard,  one  of 
the  Overseers  of  the  College,  and  a  man  of  eminent 
learning  and  piety,  in  one  of  his  writings  published 
about  this  time  (1645),  speaks  with  great  asperity, 
as  aiming,  under  these  pretences,  to  establish  worldly 
power,  and  to  gratify  their  own  personal  ambition  ; 
and  he  calls  them  "Evangelical  hypocrites."!  "The 

*  The  adjoining  fac-simile  of  the  original  design  of  this  seal  sug- 
gested the  vignette  on  the  title-page,  in  which  it  is  represented  in  a 
more  regular  form. 

t  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  p.  289. 

|  New  England's  Lamentations  for  Old  England's  Errorss  in  a 
Letter  from  Thomas  Shepard.  Dated,  Cambridge,  Dec.  10th,  1644. 
London,  printed  1645. 


FAC  SIMILE  OF  A  PART  OF  THE  OFFICIAL  RECORD  OF   THE  FIRST  MEETING  OF  THE 
GOVERNORS  OF  THE  COLLEGE  UNDER  THE    CHARTER  OF  1642  . 


f, 


c/U 


6 


/$?•«#<     (Jj-n^S-   «k.  I&-  fiufcji&j. 


P 

p*/***. 


fa 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  49 


Epistles  of  James  and  John,"  says  he,  "  are  antidotes   CHAPTER 

against  this  kind  of  poison ;  and  I  look  upon  them  as  '. — 

lamps,  hung  up  .to  discover  these  men."  "  The  most 
subtle  hypocrites,"  he  adds,  "  appear,  or  seem  to  be, 
under  grace,  and  their  external  operations  are  chiefly 
evangelical;  hence  I  call  them  Evangelical  hypo- 
crites." * 

Whatever  was  the  cause,  it  appears  that  the  motto 
"  Veritas  "  was  soon  exchanged  for  "  In  Christi  glo- 
riam."  f  After  many  years  there  was  another  change. 
Circumstances  give  color  to  the  conjecture,  that  this 
took  place  during  the  Presidency  of  Increase  Mather, 
when  a  violent  struggle  was  making  to  secure  the  Col- 
lege under  the  influences  of  the  old  established  Con- 
gregational church.J  At  this  time,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  that,  instead  of  "In  Christi  gloriam,"  the 
motto  now  in  use,  "  Christo  et  Ecclesm,"  was  adopt- 
ed. §  There  is,  however,  no  authority  for  either  of 
these  mottos  in  any  existing  College  record  ;  nor  is 
it  known,  with  certainty,  when  either  was  introduced. 

There  is,  unquestionably,  a  liberality  of  religious  cause  of 
principle  manifested  in  the  several  charters  of  this  spirit. 
College,  apparently  irreconcilable  with  the  general 
conduct  and  policy  resulting  from  predominating  re- 
ligious opinions  in  that  day.  But  it  is  well  known, 
that,  among  the  early  emigrants,  there  existed  men, 
who  were  true  disciples  of  the  great  principles  of  the 
Reformation,  and  who  even  carried  them  to  a  degree 
of  theoretic  perfection,  scarcely  exceeded  in  our  time. 
It  is  possible,  nay,  even  probable,  that  the  reason  of 
the  entire  absence  of  any  reference  to  points  of  re- 

*  The  Parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins,  by  Thomas  Shepard.    London, 
1695.  Fol. 

t  See  above,  p.  23.  J  See  App.  No.  VIII.  §  See  the  end  of  this  volume. 
VOL.    I.  7 


50  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  ligious  faith  in  the  charters  of  the  College  was,~that 

'- —  these  early  emigrants  could  not  agree  concerning  them 

among  themselves,  and  preferred  silence  on  such  points 
to  engaging  in  controversy,  when  establishing  a  semi- 
nary of  learning,  in  favor  of  which  they  were  desir- 
ous to  unite  all  the  varieties  of  religious  belief.  The 
right  of  exercising  private  judgment  in  matters  of 
religion  was,  at  that  day,  in  terms  at  least,  univer- 
sally recognised.  It  is  not  possible  more  expressly 
to  maintain  the  right  of  every  man  to  construe  Scrip- 
ture for  himself,  as  a  fundamental  principle,  than  did 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  and  approved  leaders 
of  that  period.  This  assertion  might  easily  be  sup- 
ported by  quotations  from  the  writings  of  many  of 
them.  It  will  be  sufficient,  however,  to  refer  to  those 
of  that  most  famous  and  efficient  religious  champion, 
John  Robinson,  whose  influence,  more  than  that  of 
any  other  individual,  presided  over  the  first  emigration 
to  New  England.  The  parting  lesson  he  gave  to  his 
church,  when  about  departing  for  this  country,  is  fa- 
miliarly known  ;  —  "  To  think  for  themselves,  and  not, 
like  the  Lutherans  and  Calvinists,  stop  short  where 
their  leaders  stopped ;  but  to  follow  their  leaders  no 
farther  than  they  followed  Christ." 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  more  catholic  and 
liberal  spirit,  than  that  which  is  indicated  in  all  his 
writings.  He  says ;  "  God,  who  made  two  great 
lights  for  the  bodily  eye,  hath  also  made  two  lights 
for  the  eye  of  the  mind.  The  one,  the  Scriptures, 
for  her  supernatural  light,  and  the  other,  reason,  for 
her  natural  light.  And,  indeed,  only  these  two  are  a 
man's  own,  and  so  is  not  the  authority  of  other  men. 
The  Scriptures  are  as  well  mine  as  any  other  man's ; 
and  so  is  reason,  as  far  as  I  can  attain  to  it.  But  the 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  51 

authority  of  others  is  not  mine,  but  theirs."*     Again;   CHAPTER 

"  When  we  avow  the  Scriptures'  perfection,  we  ex- — 

elude  not  from  men  common  sense  and  the  light  of 
nature,  by  which  we  are  both  subjects,  capable  of 
understanding  them,  and  are  directed  in  sundry  man- 
ners of  doing  things  commanded  by  them."f  And 
again ;  "  This  is  the  first  thing  we  are  to  believe, 
that  we  are  to  believe  nothing  but  according  to  the 
Scriptures.  All  things  else  are  human  ;  and  human  it 
is  to  err  and  be  deceived.  The  custom  of  the  church 
is  but  the  custom  of  men ;  the  sentence  of  the 
fathers  but  the  opinions  of  men  ;  the  determinations 
of  councils  but  the  judgments  of  men."J 

To  such  a  degree  of  liberality  had  this  great  divine 
in  that  age  attained,  that,  in  the  figurative  language 
then  common,  he  represents  the  yielding  of  implicit 
reverence  to  the  opinions  of  the  church  or  of  men,  to 
be  one  of  the  choice  arts  of  the  Devil.  "  In  former 
ages,"  says  he,  "  the  Devil  has  so  far  prevailed,  as 
that  men,  in  superstitious  reverence,  have,  as  it  were, 
pinned  their  faith  and  religion  upon  the  sleeves  of  the 
church's  authority  or  clergy's  learning,  putting  out  or 
winking  with  their  own  eyes,  that  their  guides  might 
lead  them.  And  this  blindfold  devotion  is  yet  affected 
by  too  many."^ 

The  existence  and  the  nature  of  this  liberal  spirit 
in  many  of  the  early  emigrants,  and  the  causes  which 
checked  and  limited  its  developement,  will  be  ren- 
dered further  apparent  from  the  political  and  religious 
controversies  relative  to  the  College,  which  occurred 


*  Essays,  Divine  and  Moral,  by  John  Robinson.    3d  Edit.  Lon- 
don, 1638.  p.  118. 

t  Ibid.  p.  100.  +  Ibid.  p.  102.  §  Ibid.  p.  119. 


52  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  during  the  presidency  of  Increase  Mather,  and  which 
—  constitute  the  most  critical  and  eventful  chapter  of  its 
history.  It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  bearings  of 
those  controversies,  which  began  at  that  time,  and  have 
not  wholly  ceased  in  our  day,  without  recurring  to  the 
first  charter  of  the  Colony,  and  the  powers  assumed 
and  the  civil  constitution  established  under  it  by  the 
first  emigrants  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Nor  can 
we  otherwise  account  for  the  remarkable  fact  in  the 
history  of  this  College,  that  a  literary  institution, 
founded  for  the  instruction  of  the  whole  people 
in  general  science,  should  have  been,  from  the  first, 
spoken  of,  lauded,  and  conducted,  as  though  it  had 
been  a  theological  seminary,  destined  exclusively  for 
the  benefit  of  one  order  of  men ;  and  that  this  lan- 
guage in  respect  to  it  should  have  been  continued  to 
be  used,  with  few  exceptions,  during  the  whole  of  the 
century  in  which  it  was  established,  and  have,  in  a 
degree,  prevailed  even  in  our  own  time, 
objects  of  The  emigrants,  who,  in  1630,  brought  with  them 
emigration,  to  this  country  the  first  charter  of  Massachusetts, 
came  here,  to  use  the  language  of  the  famous  John 
Cotton,  "  for  the  purpose  of  securing  to  themselves 
and  their  posterity,  the  pure  .and  peaceable  enjoyment 
of  the  ordinances  of  Christ,  in  church  fellowship  with 
his  people."  They  were,  or  at  least  assumed  that 
they  were,  in  a  condition,  and  with  powers,  "  to 
mould  or  form  a  commonwealth,  as  should  appear 
best  to  them."  Being  in  this  condition,  they  chose, 
that  "  religion  should  be  the  end  of  their  civil  govern- 
ment." "  There  are,"  says  the  same  distinguished 
divine,  "  two  administrations  or  polities,  ecclesiastical 
and  civil,  which  men  commonly  call  the  Church  and 
Commonwealth.  Both  agree  in  this,  that  they  have 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  53 

the  common  welfare  for  their  scope  and  aim  ;  yet  the   CHAPTER 

things,  about  which  the  civil  power  is  primarily  con-  ! — 

versant  are  bodies ;  the  things  of  this  life,  as  goods, 
lands,  honors ;  the  liberties  and  peace  of  the  outward 
man.  The  things,  whereabout  the  church  power  is 
exercised,  are  things  of  God;  as  the  souls  and  con- 
sciences of  men,  the  doctrine  and  worship  of  God,  the 
communion  of  saints." 

With  these  views  and  this  understanding,  the  early 
emigrants  deliberately  adopted,  as  the  fundamental 
principle  of  their  civil  constitution,  that  "  the  power 
of  electing  and  being  elected  to  office  should  be  exclu- 
sively vested  in  church  members  ;  "  that  is,  "  to  these 
alone  the  management  of  all  public  affairs  of  impor- 
tance should  be  committed." 

From  this  fundamental  principle  of  their  constitu- 
tion, there  resulted,  and  for  the  first  sixty  years  after 
their  emigration  there  was  upheld,  in  Massachusetts, 
as  complete  an  intertexture  of  Church  and  State,  as 
perfect  a  church  establishment,  as  ever  existed  in  any 
country.  Nor  was  this  unknown,  or  unavowed.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  openly  asserted  and  vindicated, 
as  natural  and  necessary.  The  same  leading  divine, 
John  Cotton,  speaks  to  this  point  in  language  un- 
equivocal. "  In  England,"  says  he,  "  none  but  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England  are  entrusted  with  the 
management  of  affairs.  In  Popish  countries,  none  but 
such  as  are  Catholics.  In  Turkey  itself,  none  but 
men  devoted  to  Mahomet.  Yea,  these  very  Indians, 
that  worship  the  Devil,  will  not  be  under  the  govern- 
ment of  any  Sagamores,  but  such  as  join  with  them 
in  the  observance  of  their  pawawes  and  idolatries ;  so 
that  it  seems  to  be  a  principle,  imprinted  in  the  minds 
of  men,  in  the  equity  of  it,  that  such  a  form  of  gov- 


54  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


III. 


CHAPTER  eminent,  as  best  serveth  to  establish  their  religion, 
should,  by  the  consent  of  all,  be  established  in  the  civil 
State"* 

The  effect  of  this  civil  constitution  was,  first,  that 
none  but  members  of  the  church  were  freemen  of  the 
state  ;  secondly,  as  none  could  be  church  members 
whom  the  minister  did  not  approve,  it  followed  that 
the  ecclesiastical  ruler  had  an  efficient  negative  on 
the  admission  of  every  freeman  ;  and  thirdly,  as  ex- 
communication from  the  church  created  a  civil,  as 
well  as  ecclesiastical  disability,  it  also  followed,  that 
both  the  attainment  and  continuance  of  political  rights 
were,  to  all  practical  purposes,  in  the  hands  of  the 
ecclesiastical  rulers."]/ 

The  nature  of  this  civil  constitution  is  a  further 
explanation  of  the  cause  of  the  liberal  features  of  the 
College  charters.  The  ecclesiastical  rulers,  being 
all-sufficient  under  the  civil  constitution,  required  no 
special  provision  against  contumacious  consciences  in 
those  charters.  It  also  explains  why  a  literary  insti- 
tution, founded  for  objects  of  general  science,  with  no 
reference  to  particular  religious  opinions,  was  con- 
sidered and  permitted,  by  the  civil  authorities,  to  be 
conducted  as  though  it  were  a  theological  seminary. 
For,  the  end  for  which  civil  government  was  here 
established  being  religion,  all  the  institutions  of  the 
country,  and  especially  those  of  education,  were  natu- 
rally to  be  made  subservient  to  the  great  end  of  the 
civil  constitution.  And,  above  all,  does  it  explain  the 
origin  and  causes  of  those  political  and  religious  con- 


*  A  Discourse   about   Civil    Government  in  a   Plantation,  whose 
Design  is  Religion  ;  by  John  Cotton.    1663. 
t  See  Hutchinson's  Collection  of  State  Papers.  Boston,  1769.  p.  520 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  55 


troversies,  which  occurred  about  the  College,  imme-   CHAPTER 

diately  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  old  and  the  estab-  ! — 

lishment    of   the   new    Colonial  charter,   which   was 
granted  by  William  and  Mary  in   16920 

That  charter  effected  in    Massachusetts   as  perfect  General  ef- 
and  thorough  a  revolution,  as  ever  was  produced  by  colonial 

3  .  J     charter  of 

a  similar  act  in  any  state  or  nation.  It  changed,  not  1692. 
only  the  form  of  the  government,  and  the  relations 
of  power  among  the  people,  but  also  the  entire  foun- 
dation and  objects  of  the  government.  By  making 
freehold  and  property,  instead  of  church  member- 
ship, the  qualification  of  the  right  of  electing  and 
being  elected  to  office,  religion  became  no  longer  the 
end  and  object  of  the  civil  government.)  In  the  lan- 
guage of  John  Cotton,  civil  government  in  Massa- 
chusetts was  no  longer  "  exercised  about  the  things 
of  God,  the  souls  and  consciences  of  men,  the  doc- 
trine and  worship  of  God,  and  the  communion  of 
saints,"  but  had  exclusively  for  its  end  "  the  things 
about  which  the  civil  power  is  usually  conversant ; 
goods,  lands,  honors,  the  liberties  and  peace  of  the 
outward  man." 

The  direct  effect  of  this  new  charter  was  therefore, 
manifestly,  to  deprive  the  clergy  of  the  Province 
of  that  civil  power,  which  they  had,  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country,  enjoyed.  This  effect  was 
instinctively  perceived  by  the  ecclesiastical  leaders, 
who  were  unremitting  and  vigorous  in  their  endeav- 
ours to  retain  the  civil  authority  they  had  so  long 
possessed.  Of  these  leaders,  Increase  Mather,  and  influence 
Cotton  Mather,  his  son,  were  the  most  active,  able,  tatter 
and  indefatigable.  The  extraordinary  influence  of 
President  Mather,  during  the  period  immediately 
preceding  and  succeeding  the  new  charter,  is  insep- 


56  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  arably  identified  with  the  history  of  the  Province. 
—  In  nothing,  however,  is  it  more  apparent  than  in 
the  manner  in  which  he  was  permitted  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  the  College,  and  shape  them  to  his  own 
purposes.  He  was  appointed  to  the  superintendence 
of  the  institution  in  1685,  immediately  afterward  made 
Rector,  and  soon  President.  He  held  the  relation  to 
it  of  head  for  sixteen  years ;  during  all  which  time 
he  was  not  resident  at  Cambridge  (six  months  ex- 
cepted) ;  four  of  which  years  he  was  in  Europe ; 
and  during  eight  he  was  perpetually  assailed  by  votes 
of  one  or  the  other  branch  of  the  General  Court,  and 
required  to  be  resident  at  the  College.  All  these 
requisitions  he  found  means  to  evade,  until  1701. 
Being  then  compelled  by  the  urgency  of  the  General 
Court  to  reside  there  or  resign,  he  considered  him- 
self extremely  ill  treated ;  and  his  son  Cotton  declares 
"  his  abdication  was  not  brought  about  as  fairly  as  it 
should  have  been,"  and  takes  credit  to  himself "  for 
not  telling  the  whole  story."*  Of  the  motives  and 
master  passions  of  his  eventful  presidency,  we  are 
enabled  to  speak  with  great  certainty.  There  is  no 
class  of  men,  to  whom  history  is  under  so  many  obli- 
gations as  to  those,  who  submit  to  the  labor  of  keep- 
ing diaries.  On  the  one  hand,  they  enjoy  a  great 
advantage  over  their  contemporaries,  by  being  thus 
enabled  to  tell  their  own  story  to  posterity  in  their 
own  way,  when  there  are  none  living  to  explain  or 
contradict ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  nature  establishes 
for  this  advantage  a  compensation,  in  the  fact,  that 
they  are  often  led,  by  vanity,  passion,  or  inadvertence, 
to  state  facts  and  make  records,  which  place  their 

*  Life  of  Increase  Mather,  by  his  Son,  p.  173. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  57 


III. 


own  characters  and  views,  or  those  of  their  friends,  CHAPTER 
in  lights  which  they  had  carefully  concealed  from  their 
contemporaries;  —  views  which  the  world,  although  it 
might  have  suspected,  could  not  otherwise  have  made 
certain.  This  is  remarkably  the  case  in  respect  to 
President  Mather  and  his  son.  They  both  kept  diaries, 
in  which  they  have  themselves  recorded  their  motives 
and  purposes  ;  so  that  in  relation  to  either  there  can 
hardly  be  any  mistake. 

In  June,  1685,  Increase  Mather  was  requested  by  1685. 
the  Overseers  to  "  take  special  care  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  College,  and  for  that  end  to  act  as  Presi- 
dent until  a  farther  settlement  be  orderly  made."*  To 
this  he  acceded.  His  oversight,  however,  was  neces- 
sarily formal  and  occasional.  He  lived  in  Boston,  and, 
besides  his  parochial  labors,  was  actively  engaged  in 
the  absorbing  politics  of  the  period.  In  consequence, 
the  annual  grant  of  the  General  Court  to  the  President 
for  his  services  was,  this  year,  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Corporation,  to  be  applied  by  them  "  for  the 
encouragement  of  such  as  have  done  the  ivork."^ 
Under  that  vote  nothing  was  given  by  the  Corpora- 
tion to  Increase  Mather ;  but  whatever  was  distributed 
"  on  account  of  the  President's  work,"  was  given  to 
John  Leverett  and  John  Cotton ;  the  former  of  whom 
was,  about  this  time,  appointed  fellow  of  the  Cor- 
poration, and  commenced  an  active  fulfilment  of  his 
duties  as  instructor  in  the  College. 

During  the  period  which  elapsed  between  the  dis- 
solution of  the  old  charter  of  the  Colony  in  1684, 
and  the  arrival  of  the  new  charter  in  1692,  the  Col- 
lege partook  of  the  embarrassments  of  the  Colony. 

*  College  Records,  Book  I.  p.  68.  t  Ibid.  p.  69. 

VOL.    I.  8 


58  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  The  public  records  of  the  latter,  for  several  years, 
'- —  are  lost,*  and  those  of  the  former  are  extremely  de- 
ficient. It  appears,  however,  from  such  of  them  as 
Dudley's  remain,  that  Joseph  Dudley,  who  held,  between  May 
of  the**  and  December,  in  the  year  1686,  the  commission  of 
°i  6  sV  President  of  the  Colony,  and  William  Stoughton,  who 
held,  during  the  same  time,  that  of  Deputy  Pres- 
ident, availed  themselves  of  their  transitory  power 
to  place  the  College  on  a  basis  adapted  to  the  uncer- 
tainty which  hung  over  its  destinies,  in  common  with 
those  of  the  Colony.  On  the  23d  of  July  in  that 
year,f  they,  with  their  Council,  met  at  Cambridge, 
and  appointed  Increase  Mather,  Rector,  and  John 
Leverett  and  Thomas  Brattle,  Tutors,  enjoining  upon 
the  Rector  to  make  his  "  usual  visitations,"  and  vest- 
ing in  the  two  last  "  the  government "  of  the  College. 
Andros.  Andros,  during  his  short  arid  violent  rule,  inter- 
fered but  little,  if  at  all,  with  this  settlement.  On 
the  departure  of  Increase  Mather  for  England,  in 
1688,  he  appointed  William  Hubbard  temporary  Presi- 
dent or  Rector,  J  for  the  purpose  of  officiating  at 
Commencement.  It  appears  also,  by  Judge  Sewall's 
1686.  Diary,  that,  in  July  of  that  year,  Andros  attended 
Commencement,  bringing  with  him  Ratcliffe,  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England,  who,  by  his  orders, 
had  a  seat  assigned  to  him  in  the  pulpit  with  the  Presi- 
dent. This  circumstance  was  sufficiently  annoying, 
and  probably  was  regarded  as  an  intended  insult,  to 
the  stern  Congregationalists,  who  then  governed  the 
College.  They  extended,  however,  to  Ratcliffe  no 
professional  comity ;  nor  was  he  permitted  to  take 

*  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  I.  p.  317. 

t  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  1. 

J  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Third  Series,  Vol.  I.  p.  83. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  59 

any    part   in   the  ceremonies.     For   Sewall   carefully  CHAPTER 
records,  that  President  Mather  "  prayed  both  forenoon 
and  afternoon,  and  also  craved  blessing  and  returned 
thanks  in  the  Hall." 

It  was  customary  at  this  period  for  the  President 
to  make  an  oration  on  Commencement  day.  Sewall 
relates,  that  President  Mather,  after  giving  the  degrees 
in  1685,  made  an  oration  in  praise  of  academical 
studies  and  degrees.  At  the  Commencement  also,  1688. 
in  1688,  Hubbard,  when  officiating  as  President  under 
the  appointment  of  Andros,  "  made  an  oration,"  ac- 
cording to  Sewall,  "  in  which  he  compared  Sir  William 
Phips  (who  had  been  knighted  for  discovering  and 
taking  possession  of  the  wealth  of  a  sunken  Spanish 
galleon)  to  Jason  bringing  home  the  golden  fleece." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  President  Mather  sailed  President 

*'.'     '  .     '     .  .  Mather's 

for  England  at  the  instigation  of  the  civil  and  eccle-  agency  in 

England. 

siastical  authorities  of  the  Colony.  The  openness 
and  boldness,  with  which  he  had  resisted  the  tyran- 
nical acts  of  Andros  and  Randolph,  rendered  him 
extremely  popular  with  both  those  orders,  and  not  less 
odious  to  each  of  these  individuals.  He  was  in 
Europe  during  the  Revolution  of  1688,  watched  its 
progress  with  solicitude,  was  soon  appointed  one  of 
the  agents  of  the  Colony  at  the  Court  of  Great 
Britain,  and  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  forming  the 
new  Provincial  charter  of  1692,  and  in  persuading 
the  people  of  the  Colony  to  accept  it.  Being  con- 
sidered as  the  head  and  representative  of  the  clergy 
of  Massachusetts,  the  ministers  of  the  crown  were 
desirous  to  conciliate  him ;  well  knowing,  that  the 
ecclesiastical  was  in  fact  the  predominating  estate 
of  the  Colonial  realm.  To  this  end,  they  gave  him 
the  nomination  of  the  Governor,  the  Council,  and 


60  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   all    the   officers   appointed    under   the    new   charter. 


in. 


These  were  of  course  taken  from  among  his  friends. 
Political      He  returned  to  this  country  in   1692,  possessing  the 

influence  of  •     j   •    n  ,   .  r  ,        f 

President     unexampled  influence  resulting  from  the  fact,  that  all 

Mather.  .      b 

the  members  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  new  gov- 
ernment were  indebted  to  him  for  their  nomination. 
To  the  Mathers  this  was  a  subject  of  extreme  exulta- 
tion, and  particularly  the  appointment  of  Sir  William 
Phips  as  Governor. 

"  The  time  has  come  !  the  set  time  has  come ! " 
exclaims  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  Diary  under  the  date 
of  April,  1692;  "  I  am  now  to  receive  an  answer  of 
so  many  prayers.  All  the  Counsellors  of  the  Province 
are  of  my  own  father's  nomination  ;  and  my  father- 
in-law,  with  several  related  unto  me,  and  several 
brethren  of  my  own  church,  are  among  them.  The 
Governor  of  the  Province  is  not  my  enemy,  but  one 
whom  I  baptized ;  namely,  Sir  William  Phips,  one 
of  my  own  flock,  and  one  of  my  dearest  friends." 
wiiiiam  William  Stoughton  also  was  under  obligation  to  the 

Stoughton.  .   c  . 

Mathers  lor  his  appointment  as  Lieutenant-Governor. 
The  circumstances  under  which  it  took  place  ren- 
dered their  favor  peculiarly  grateful  and  impressive. 
Of  all  the  victims  of  the  Provincial  Revolution  of  1688, 
Joseph  Dudley,  next  to  Andros,  was  most  obnoxious 
to  the  people  of  Massachusetts.  That  Stoughton  en- 
tertained for  him  a  strong  personal  attachment  was 
well  known.  He  had  also  coincided  in  Dudley's 
political  course,  and  had  accepted,  with  him,  a  seat  in 
the  Council  of  Andros.  On  these  accounts  he  lost  much 
of  the  public  confidence,  had  been  excluded  from  the 
Board  of  Assistants,  and  the  state  of  his  political  in- 
fluence had  consequently  become  precarious  and  un- 
pleasant. His  popularity,  being  in  these  straits,  took 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  61 

refuge  under  the  shadow  of  the  influence  of  the  Ma-   CHAPTER 

thers.     He  made,  it  appears,  about  this  time,  effectual  - — 

court  to  Cotton  Mather,  who  is  found,  accordingly, 
recommending  to  his  father,  then  agent  in  Great  Bri- 
tain, to  provide  for  Stoughton,  as  "  a  real  friend  to 
New  England,"  as  "  willing  to  make  amendment  for 
all  his  miscarriages,"  and  one  whom  he  desired  his 
father  "  to  restore  to  the  favor  of  his  country."* 
This  recommendation,  if  it  were  not  the  cause  of  the 
nomination  of  Stoughton  by  Increase  Mather,  had 
unquestionable  weight  in  effecting  his  appointment  as 
Lieutenant- Governor. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  coincidence  of 
Stoughton's  passions,  prejudices,  and  policy,  with  those 
of  the  Mathers,  was  the  cause  of  his  immediate  ap- 
pointment, after  the  organization  of  the  Provincial 
government  in  1692,  to  the  office  of  Chief  Justice 
on  the  trials  for  witchcraft,  then  instituted  under  their 
auspices.  This  appointment  was  made  in  the  first 
year  of  the  administration  of  Phips,  while  the  Ma- 
thers were  in  the  flush  of  their  political  influence. 
Taking,  as  they  did  avowedly,  a  lively  interest  in  the 
result  of  those  trials,  it  admits  not  of  a  doubt,  that 
Stoughton  owed  this,  to  him  a  melancholy  eminence, 
to  the  agreement  of  his  and  their  views.  He  fully 
justified  the  expectations  of,  his  patrons.  The  con- 
tinuance and  cruel  destructiveness  of  that  popular 
infatuation  are  associated  so  closely  and  disgracefully 
with  the  memory  of  no  individual,  as  with  that  of 
William  Stoughton.  The  only  refuge  for  his  charac- 
ter, against  charges  of  a  deeper  die,  is  the  sealed 
blindness  of  his  bigotry. 

*  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.     Edit.  1795.  Vol.  I.  p.  365. 


62  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        The    particulars   of    that    excitement   scarcely   fall 

— '. —   within   the  sphere  of  this  History.     Some   reference 

Excitement  to  it,  however,  is  required  by  the  fact,  that,  as  the 

concerning  ,..,.  ,  /»       i          •       •    -i  i     ' 

witchcraft,  belief  in  the  agency  of  the  invisible  world  began 
to  lessen,  and  some  of  those,  who  were  the  chief 
actors  in  the  tragedy,  to  feel  the  weight  of  public 
indignation  pressing  upon  them,  they,  being  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation,  brought  this  body  into  the 
field  for  the  purpose  of  giving  countenance  to  that 
belief,  and  of  sustaining  this  decaying  faith.  In 
March,  1694,  a  paper,*  purporting  to  be  proposals 
made  by  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, prepared  by  both  the  Mathers,  and  signed  by 
the  whole  board,  was  circulated  throughout  New 
England  ;  inviting  all  men,  and  particularly  the  clergy, 
to  observe  and  record  "  the  illustrious  discoveries  of 
Divine  Providence  in  the  government  of  the  world," 
and  among  others,  "  apparitions,  possessions,  enchant- 
ments, and  all  extraordinary  things,  wherein  the  ex- 
istence and  agency  of  the  invisible  world  are  more 
sensibly  demonstrated." 

That  both  the  Mathers  had  an  efficient  agency  in 
producing  and  prolonging  that  excitement,  there  can 
be,  at  this  day,  no  possible  question.  The  conduct  of 
Increase  Mather  in  relation  to  it  was  marked  with  cau- 

Cotton  tion  and  political  skill ;  but  that  of  his  son,  Cotton 
Mather,  ,was  headlong,  zealous,  and  fearless,  both  as 
to  character  and  consequences.  In  its  commencement 
and  progress,  his  activity  is  everywhere  conspicuous. 
The  part  he  acted  in  that  tragedy  has  left  on  his 
memory  a  stain,  which  time  has  deepened  rather  than 

*  See  Robert  Calef's  "More  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World." 
Reprinted  at  Salem,  1796.  p.  92. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  63 

removed.     Belief  in  invisible  agencies  was  adapted  to  CHAPTER 

a  mind  naturally  active,   imaginative,   and  ambitious.  L_. 

He  had  been  early  taught  the  power  of  the  imagina- 
tion in  matters  of  religion,  and  by  the  precept  and 
example  of  his  father  had  been  instructed  in  the  lan- 
guage of  excitement  and  alarm.  No  sooner  was  the 
field  left  open  to  him,  by  the  absence,  in  Europe,  of 
his  father  and  colleague,  than  he  entered  upon  it  with 
an  ardor  natural  to  his  youth,  and  congenial  with  his 
temperament.  Regarded  as  the  hope  of  the  clergy, 
he  aspired  to  be  their  champion,  and,  for  a  short  time, 
became  their  idol.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  he  was 
raised  to  a  seat,  by  the  side  of  his  father,  in  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  College.  A  short  time  afterward,  the 
General  Court  constituted  him  their  preacher  on  Elec- 
tion day.  He  was  courted  and  consulted  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Lieutenant-Governor,  Phips  and  Stough- 
ton  ;  both  of  whom  were  conscious,  that  they  were 
largely  indebted  to  his  influence  for  their  respective 
appointments. 

Excited  and  emboldened  by  the  elevated  station  he 
had  obtained,  in  relation  both  to  the  Colony  and  the 
College,  Cotton  Mather  seized,  with  a  sagacity  char-  His  agency 
acteristic  of  zeal  and  ambition,  on  that  popular  be-  witchcraft 

delusion. 

lief  in  invisible  agencies,  which  the  general  tenor  of 
the  preaching  of  that  day  had  encouraged  and  made 
almost  universal  in  New  England.  His  discourses 
from  the  pulpit  were  passionate  and  exciting;  and 
awakened  perpetually  into  action  this  popular  delusion. 
He  employed  himself  sedulously  in  seeking  out  every 
case,  which  encouraged  faith  in  supernatural  agencies. 
Thus  standing  before  his  contemporaries  in  the  light, 
he  incurred  the  responsibility,  of  being  its  chief  cause 
and  promoter.  In  the  progress  of  the  superstitious  fear, 


64  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  when  it  amounted  to  frenzy,  and  could  only  be  satis- 

'. —  fied  with  blood,  he  neither  blenched  nor  halted ;  but 

attended  the  courts,  watched  the  progress  of  invisible 
agency  in  the  prisons,  and  joined  the  multitude  in 
witnessing  the  executions.  After  "  two  hundred  per- 
sons had  been  accused,*  one  hundred  and  fifty  im- 
prisoned, nineteen  hanged,  one  pressed  to  death,  and 
twenty-eight  condemned,  one  third  of  whom  were 
members  of  the  churches,  and  more  than  half  of  good 
general  conversation,"  he  wrote  a  formal  treatise, 
entitled  "  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World,"  approving 
the  proceedings  of  the  courts,  and  exciting  the  multi- 
tude to  a  continuance  in  the  belief,  and  the  courts 
to  a  perseverance  in  their  vindictiveness. 

After  the  excitement  had  passed  away,  and  shame 
had  succeeded  to  passion,  those,  who  had  guided  or 
submitted  to  its  course,  gave  it  the  name  of  "  popular 
delusion,"  or  of  "  a  visitation  of  Providence."  But  the 
delusion  of  the  multitude  is  never  general  or  violent, 
unless  those,  who  are  their  natural  or  assumed  leaders, 
countenance  or  encourage  it.  Nor  ought  human  agents 
to  be  permitted  to  evade  just  responsibility,  under  pre- 
tence of  supernatural  suggestions  and  impulses.  The 
guilt  of  the  excesses  and  horrors,  consequent  on  that 
excitement,  rests,  and  ought  to  rest,  heavily  upon  the 
leading  divines  and  politicians  of  the  Colony  at  that 
period;  who  had  either  the  hardihood  to  uphold,  or 
the  cowardice  not  to  withstand,  the  madness  of  the 
populace,  of  which  they  had  been,  in  110  small  degree, 
the  authors.  Cotton  Mather,  however,  with  the  sin- 
gular infelicity  of  judgment,  which  constituted  an 


*  See  Calef's  "More  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World."     Edit. 
1796.  p.  233. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  65 


element  of  his  character,  while  his  contemporaries  and  CHAPTER 

coadjutors  were   drawing  off  from  the   delusion,  and  '- — 

some  of  them,  under  the  influence  of  shame  and  re- 
morse, were  confessing  their  sins,  and  asking  pardon 
of  Heaven  and  their  fellow-citizens,  exhibited  no  un- 
easiness, no  self-upbraidings.  On  the  contrary,  he 
continued  to  avow  his  belief,  and  thus  connected  his 
name  and  fame  inseparably  with  that  excitement,  as 
its  chief  cause,  agent,  believer,  and  justifier. 

In  the  year  1690,  Cotton  Mather  had  been  elected 
a  member  of  the  Corporation.  His  father,  on  his 
return  from  England,  found  accordingly  his  influence 
over  the  College  increased  by  the  introduction  of  his 
son  into  that  board. 
f  The  new  relations  in  the  political  system  of  Mas-  Effects  on 

f  the  College 

sachusetts,  resulting   from   the    charter    of   the    Pro-  ,oft.hfc,°" 

lonial  char- 

vince  granted  by  William  and  Mary,  were  of  a  nature 
strongly  to  influence  the  fortunes  of  the  College. 
No  sooner  had  it  gone  into  operation,  than  the 
Calvinistic  leaders  of  the  Province  realized,  that,  as 
a  necessary  consequence,  the  sceptre  they  had  so 
long  possessed,  had  passed  from  their  hands  ;  and, 
being  desirous  to  secure  whatever  yet  remained  of 
their  former  authority,  sought  to  possess  themselves 
of  such  instruments  of  power  as  were  yet  within 
their  grasp.  Of  all  the  institutions  of  the  country, 
the  College,  next  to  the  civil  government,  was  that 
which  they  deemed  the  most  important,  and  to 
which  they  thought  they  were  best  entitled,  as  it  had 
been  founded  under  their  auspices,  and  had  been  at 
all  times  under  their  control. 

At  this  period,  however,  there  sprang  up  powerful 
rival  and  somewhat  hostile  influences  among  those 
citizens,  who  had  been  excluded,  under  the  old  colo- 

VOL.  i.  9 


66  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    nial  charter,  from  all  political  power,  some  from  their 

l— attachment  to  the  Church  of  England,  others,  though 

Congregationalists,  because  they  were  too  conscien- 
tious to  pretend  to  religious  doctrines  which  they  did 
not  believe,  or  to  religious  experiences  which  they 
had  not  attained,  for  the  sake  of  being  admitted  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  thus  becoming  freemen  of  the 
State.  Such  men,  naturally,  thought  they  had  as  much 
right,  as  the  strict  adherents  to  the  Calvinistic  doc- 
trines, to  have  a  share  in  the  government  of  the  Col- 
lege, as  a  literary  institution.  They  saw  no  reason, 
why  they  should  be  excluded  from  such  share  in  time 
to  come,  because  they  had  been  so  in  time  past.  And 
particularly  were  they  of  this  opinion,  since,  in  the 
qualities  of  "  piety  and  godliness,"  the  only  intimated 
requisites  in  the  College  charters,  they  were  not 
disposed  to  yield  to  any  pretensions  to  superiority, 
made  by  others ;  and  because,  also,  in  their  own 
number  they  were  able  to  reckon  some  of  its  most 
liberal,  early,  and  uniform  friends  and  benefactors.  ; 

Now  it  appears,  from  the  history  of  the  controver- 
sies and  events  of  those  times,  that  Increase  Mather, 
and  Cotton  Mather,  his  son,  aspired  to  become,  were 
best  entitled  to  be  called,  and  perhaps,  from  learning, 
activity,  and  talent,  were  best  qualified  to  be,  chiefs 
among  the  Calvinistic  leaders.  Both  were  members 
of  the  Corporation,  and  the  former  was  President 
of  the  College.  On  the  other  hand,  John  Leverett 
and  William  Brattle,  both  tutors  as  well  as  members 
of  the  Corporation,  who  had  been  the  principal  su- 
perintendents and  instructers  of  the  College  during 
the  four  years'  absence  of  President  Mather  in  Eu- 
rope, though  not  aspiring  to  the  character  of  leaders 
of  any  party,  were  inclined  to  the  order  of  things 


HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  67 

which  was  coming,  rather  than  to  that  which  had,  so   CHAPTER 

far   as  the   civil   constitution   had   influence,    already  - — - 

passed  away. 

It  was,  in  the  nature  of  things,  so  impossible  for 
the  adherents  to  the  ancient  doctrines,  after  having 
lost  their  power  over  the  civil  government,  to  retain 
exclusive  possession  of  the  College,  the  charter  of 
which  contained  no  handle  on  which  the  sectarian 
spirit  could  seize,  that  it  is  probable  they  would  have 
yielded  to  the  apparent  necessity  of  the  case,  and  have 
permitted  the  College  to  follow  the  fate  of  the  civil 
government,  as  a  literary  institution,  had  they  not 
been  kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  excitement  by  the 
two  Mathers,  both  of  whom  had  private  objects  to 
attain,  and  personal  ends  to  answer,  by  the  agitations 
they  produced. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER 
IV. 

1692. 


College 
Charter  of 
1692. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

College  Charter  of  1692,  —  Its  History  and  Results.  —  Rev.  Charles 
Morton.  —  Degrees  of  Doctor  in  Divinity  and  Bachelor  of  Laws  first 
conferred.  —  The  General  Court  vote,  that  President  Mather  shall 
reside  at  Cambridge.  —  His  consequent  Conduct.  —  College  Charter 
negatived  by  the  King.  —  President  Mather's  Desire  of  an  Agency 
in  England.  —  Origin  and  Motive  of  that  Desire. —  Embarrass- 
ments of  the  College,  and  Settlement  of  it  by  Stoughton. 

No  SOONER  was  the  Provincial  government  organ- 
ized under  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  than  a 
bill  for  a  new  charter  for  the  College  was  introduced 
and  passed  by  the  General  Court.*  This  was  effected 
at  the  suggestion,  and  was  the  work,  of  President 
Mather,  in  pursuance  of  advice  received  by  him  in 
England,  as  his  son  Cotton  asserts,  f 

The  provisions  of  this  charter  were  most  extraor- 
dinary. It  constituted  a  Corporation  of  ten  persons, 
with  the  usual  powers  and  perpetual  succession  by 
filling  up  their  own  vacancies,  and  vested  them  with 
authority  to  elect  all  the  officers  of  the  institution.  It 
conferred  the  right  to  hold  lands  to  the  value  of  four 
thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and  personal  estate  to 
any  amount  whatsoever.  It  exempted  all  the  estate, 
real  and  personal,  of  the  College  and  of  the  President 


*  See  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  1.- Also,  Append.,  No.  LXVIII. 
t  Memoirs  of  Increase  Mather,   by  Cotton  Mather.     Edit.    1724. 
p.  170. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  69 

and  resident  fellows  from  public  taxes  :  and  also  the   CHAPTER 

IV. 

President,  three  of  his  servants,  the  fellows  and  twelve  '. — 

servants,  from  all  civil  and  military  offices  and  services. 
It  gave  the  power  of  conferring  academical  degrees, 
as  extensively  as  it  existed  in  the  English  Universities. 
And,  above  all,  it  vested  these  powers  in  this  Cor- 
poration of  ten  persons  absolutely,  without  any  control 
or  responsibility ;  making  no  provision  for  a  board  of 
Overseers,  or  a  visitatorial  power  of  any  kind. 

All  the  members  of  this  Corporation  were  selected 
by  President  Mather.  One  of  them  was  his  son, 
Cotton  Mather. 

This  charter  of  incorporation  passed  the  first  Pro- 
vincial Assembly,  and  received  the  approbation  of 
Governor  Phips  on  the  27th  of  June,  1692.  It  was 
transmitted  to  England  for  the  approbation  of  the 
King,  and,  on  the  26th  of  July  following,*  the  Corpo- 
ration established  by  it  met,  organized  itself,  and, 
without  waiting  for  the  decision  of  his  Majesty,  pro- 
ceeded to  exercise  the  several  authorities  granted  by 
the  charter.  At  their  first  meeting,  all  the  former 
laws  of  the  College  were  continued ;  the  several 
officers  of  it  were  chosen,  and  their  compensation  was 
fixed.  One  of  the  members  of  the  Corporation  (Ne- 
hemiah  Hobart),  appointed  by  the  charter,  having 
declined,  the  Rev.  Charles  Morton  was  chosen  in  his  Rev. 
place.  This  gentleman  had  been  about  six  years  in  Morton. 
the  country,  having  emigrated  from  England  among 
the  ejected  ministers,  and  was  settled  at  Charlestown. 
He  was  now  sixty-six  years  of  age,  and  enjoyed  a 
great  and  just  reputation,  here  and  in  England,  for 
talents,  learning,  and  experience.  His  general  reli- 

*  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  5. 


70  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   gious  views  coincided  with  those  of  the  Mathers,  and 

IV 

—  he  was  an  active  supporter  of  all  their  measures.* 
His  original  emigration  was  connected  with  the  hope 
of  being  made  President!  of  the  College.  But 
arriving  in  1686,  during  Dudley's  short  administra- 
tion, the  expectation  of  the  coming  of  Andros,  and 
Morton's  known  obnoxiousness  to  the  ruling  powers 
in  England,  rendered  such  an  appointment  either  im- 
possible or  unadvisable.  He  therefore  accepted  a  call 
from  the  church  at  Charlestown  to  become  their  pastor. 
Morton  was  well  qualified  for  the  office  of  President. 
He  had  been  a  highly  acceptable  instructor  of  youth 
in  England.  On  his  arrival  in  this  country,  he  en- 
gaged in  the  same  occupation.  His  fame  and  success 
gave  uneasiness  to  the  Corporation,  t  This  led  him 
to  abandon  the  employment.  His  introduction  into 
that  body  was  probably  connected  with  a  design  of 
investing  him  with  the  Presidency ;  an  office  which 
President  Mather  began  now  to  think  of  exchanging 
for  an  agency  in  England,  with  the  hope  of  fixing 
himself  permanently  there.  After  his  admission  into 
the  Corporation,  no  jealousy  seems  to  have  been 
entertained  of  Morton's  powers,  nor  any  disposition 
to  diminish  his  celebrity.  On  the  contrary,  two 
of  his  manuscript  works,  "  A  System  of  Logic, "§ 
and  "  Compendium  Physicae,"  were  received  as  text- 
books in  the  College,  the  students  being  required 
to  copy  them.  He  was  often  placed,  out  of  respect 
to  his  age  and  acquirements,  next  to  President  Mather 
in  the  records  of  the  Corporation,  and,  as  we  shall 

*  Eliot's  Biog.,  art.  Morton. 

t  Hutch.  Coll.  of  State  Papers.   Edit.  1769.  p.  551. 
J  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  I.  p.  161. 
§  Mass.  Hist.   Coll.,   Second   Series,  Vol.  II.  p.  115. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  71 

soon  see,  was,  on  the  first  opportunity,  raised  to  the    CHAPTER 

office  of   Vice-President,    probably    as    a  preliminary  ! — 

step  to  his  further  advancement,  in  case  the  project  of 
a  European  agency  should  be  effected  for  President 
Mather.  Morton,  on  his  part,  will  be  found  earnestly 
pressing  that  appointment  for  the  President,  in  which, 
from  his  influence,  he  would  doubtless  have  been  suc- 
cessful, had  it  not  been  for  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1698. 

The  Corporation  were  not  deterred  by  the  fact,  that 
the  fate  of  the  charter  yet  depended  on  the  royal 
approbation,  but  proceeded  at  their  second  meeting  to  1692. 
gratify  President  Mather  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  in 
Divinity,  the  first  it  had  ever  assumed  the  authority 
to  confer.  This  distinction,  Cotton  Mather  asserts, 
the  Corporation  granted  from  "  a  sense  of  duty  "*  to 
the  President.  It  was  certainly  as  well  deserved,  as 
it  was  acceptable  both  to  father  and  son.  It  was  not, 
however,  a  solitary  instance  of  self-gratification,  en- 
joyed by  the  members  of  the  Corporation  ;  since,  on 
the  same  day,  John  Leverett  and  William  Brattle,! 
both  fellows  of  that  body,  had  each  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Bachelor  in  Divinity,  this  being 
also  the  first  instance  of  a  grant  of  a  degree  of  this 
class  by  the  Corporation.  As  the  charter,  under  which 
they  now  acted,  required  no  concurrence  of  any  other 
board,  the  process  of  conferring  these  degrees  was 
equally  easy,  expeditious,  and  conclusive. 

The  alacrity  and  adroitness  with  which  President 
Mather  thus  availed  himself  of  the  great  influence 
which,  during  the  first  year  of  the  operation  of  the 


*  Memoirs  of  Increase  Mather,  by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  171. 
t  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  5. 


72  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   new    charter,   he   possessed   over    the   Governor    and 

' —  Council,    are  indicative   both  of  talent  and  sagacity. 

The  state  *  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature 
also,  which  during  the  same  period  was  composed 
chiefly  of  those,  who  had  been  members  of  the  same 
branch  under  the  old  charter,  and  who  probably  un- 
derstood and  coincided  in  his  views,  greatly  contrib- 
uted to  his  success.  In  no  other  possible  state  of 
things  could  a  charter,  thus  giving  a  permanent  and 
independent  character  to  the  College  Corporation,  and 
setting  the  institution  absolutely  free  from  all  legis- 
lative control,  have  been  obtained  from  the  colonial 
government.  President  Mather  seems  to  have  acted 
under  the  impression,  that,  whatever  was  to  be  done, 
must  be  effected  speedily  and  thoroughly.  He  proba- 
bly anticipated  great  alterations  in  the  character  of  both 
branches  of  the  government,  as  soon  as  the  change 
of  the  qualification  of  electors  from  church-membership 
to  freehold  should  have  had  time  to  produce  its  full 
effect.  He  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  human  nature 
to  apprehend,  that  the  continuance  of  his  own  influence 
was,  at  least,  precarious.  He  had,  indeed,  gratified 
those  friends  whom  he  had  nominated  to  the  Council. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  offended  all  those,f  who 
had  previously  held  the  station  of  Assistants,  and  whom 
he  had  neglected  to  nominate  for  that  body.  These 
were  neither  few,  nor  without  influence.  Notwith- 
standing the  fate  of  the  College  charter  depended 
upon  the  royal  approbation,  he  proceeded  in  the  same 
spirit  of  vigor  and  expedition,  which  had  character- 
ized his  obtaining  it  from  the  legislature,  to  avail 


*  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  II.  pp.  64-69.     Boston,  1795 
t  Ibid.  p.  69. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  73 

himself  of  the  power  it  conferred,  precisely  as  though   CHAPTER 
it  were  irrevocable.  ! 

That  President  Mather  anticipated  great  changes 
in  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  influences  of  the  Prov- 
ince, in  consequence  of  the  new  Provincial  charter,  president 
is  apparent  from  his  Election  Sermon,  preached  before  election 
the  second  General  Court,  convened  under  it.  This  1692. 
duty  had  been  assigned  to  him  by  the  preceding  legis- 
lature. He  selected  as  the  topic  of  his  discourse, 
"  the  great  benefit  of  primitive  counsellors,"  and  took 
occasion  to  warn  the  legislature  against  "  the  removal 
of  wise  counsellors,"  as  "  threatening  a  sore  judg- 
ment," and  particularly  not  to  elect  "  malcontent  and 
disaffected  "  persons,  or  such  as  "  the  Governor  would, 
though  unwilling,  be  compelled  to  negative."  A 
course  sufficiently  bold,  considering  that  it  was  well 
known,  that  his  opinion  had  been  taken,  and  was  con- 
clusive, in  the  selection  of  all  the  members  of  the 
existing  Council.  The  General  Court,  however,  far 
from  following  his  advice,  left  out  ten  of  those,  who 
owed  their  seats  in  it  to  him,  and  six  of  the  new 
members  were  persons,  who,  having  been  Assistants 
in  former  years,  had  been  omitted  the  previous  year 
in  his  nomination.  They  also  chose,  *  as  one  of  them, 
Elisha  Cooke,  who,  having  been  one  of  the  Colonial 
agents  with  Mather  in  Great  Britain,  had  opposed 
the  new  charter  in  every  form ;  who,  since  his  re- 
turn, had  expressed  in  unqualified  terms  his  dissatis- 
faction with  it ;  and  who  was  also,  on  other  accounts, 
so  personally  obnoxious  to  Governor  Phips,  that  he 
immediately  applied  to  him  his  official  negative. 

These  indications  of  change,    combined  with   the 


*  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  II.  pp.  69.  70. 
VOL.    I.  10 


74 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  calumnies  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  in  conse- 
_  quence  of  his  agency  in  procuring  the  new  charter, 
induced  President  Mather  to  prefix  to  his  Election 
Sermon,  on  its  publication,  an  Address  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Massachusetts  Bay.  This  is  a  sensible,  plain, 
and  satisfactory  vindication  of  his  conduct ;  severe 
on  "  those  ill  spirits,  who  make  it  their  design  by  slan- 
ders to  disaffect  others  ;  "  full  of  feeling  and  affection  ; 
at  the  same  time  in  a  temper  of  sufficient  loftiness 
and  self-esteem,  of  which  the  motto,  "  Bene  agere 
et  male  audire  reginm  est"  is  an  indication. 

In  the  course  of  this  Address  he  states,  that  friends 
of  his  in  England,  being  desirous  that  "  he  should 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  among  them,"  had 
told  him,  that  "  the  people  of  New  England  were 
always  ungrateful  towards  their  public  servants,"  and 
that  they  doubted  "  if  they  would  be  sensible  of  his 
services."  "  My  reply  was,"  he  adds,  "  that  I  would 
go  to  New  England,  and  see  ;  and,  if  I  found  their 
prognostications  true,  I  should  then  see  my  call  clear 
to  return  to  England  again." 

Whatever  apprehensions  this  narrative  was  calcu- 
lated or  designed  to  excite,  it  had  little  effect  on  the 
General  Court.  For,  at  their  very  next  session,  far 
from  acquiescing  in  President  Mather's  non-residency, 
which,  it  was  well  known,  he  meant  to  continue, 
they  passed  a  vote,*  "  that  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College,  for  the  time  being,  shall  reside  there, 
as  hath  been  accustomed  in  time  past."  Presi- 
dent Mather,  adopted  no  measures  in  consequence 
of  this  vote,  nor,  as  far  as  now  is  ascertained,  took 
any  notice  of  it.  He  undoubtedly  viewed  it  as  an  in- 


Proceed- 

ings  of  the 

General 

Court. 


*  Records  of  General  Court,  Dec.  2d,  1693. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  75 

dication,  that  his  influence  was  on  the  wane ;  and  it   CHAPTER 

was  one  of  the  many  intimations  of  this  fact,  which  '• — 

probably  filled  his  mind  with  that  strong  desire 
his  Diary  about  this  time  shows  he  felt,  of  return- 
ing to  England.  He  determined,  therefore,  notwith- 
standing this  vote  of  the  General  Court,  to  maintain 
his  present  position  in  respect  to  the  College.  In 
this  determination,  strange  as  it  now  seems,  he  had 
the  countenance  and  support  of  the  College  Corpora- 
tion itself.  The  residue  of  the  year  1693  and  the 
whole  of  1694  passed  without  any  further  attempt,  on 
the  part  of  the  legislature,  to  interfere  with  the  rela- 
tions of  the  President  of  the  College.  But,  on  the 
5th  of  June,  1695,  a  vote,  of  a  character  not  to  be 
mistaken  or  overlooked,  passed  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. In  this,  they  "  desire  Mr.  Mather  to  go 
and  settle  at  the  College,  that  the  College  may  not 
be  destitute  any  longer  of  a  settled  President ;  that, 
if  he  take  up  with  this  proposal,  he  shall  be  allowed 
annually  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds ;  but,  if  said 
Mr.  Mather  do  not  settle  there,  then  that  the  Cor- 
poration do  propose  some  other  meet  person  to  the 
General  Court,  who  may  be  treated  with  to  settle 
there,  that  the  College  may  no  longer  be  destitute 
of  a  settled  President." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Council  concurred  in 
either  of  these  votes.  Although  the  former  had 
been  passed  over  by  President  Mather  in  silence  and 
neglect,  the  latter  was  too  pointed  and  personal  to 
be  treated  in  the  same  manner.  Being  deeply  af-  President 
fected  by  it,  he  forthwith  gave  notice  to  the  Cor-  proposes 

~   ,  .  .  , .  -IT  ff  r    to  resign. 

poration  of  his  intention    to  relinquish  the   omce   or 
President.     This  drew  from  them  the  following  vote, 


76  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  which  passed  unanimously.*  "  Whereas  the  Reverend 
-  !  —  President  (who  was  and  is  settled  in  his  presidentship 
by  an  act  of  the  great  and  general  Assembly,  &c.), 
by  reason  of  a  late  vote  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, hath  signified  to  the  Corporation  his  design  to 
relinquish  his  service  in  the  College  as  President,  the 
fellows  of  said  College  (though  they  should  heartily 
rejoice,  if  the  Rev.  Mr.  Increase  Mather  could  have 
such  encouragement  as  might  induce  him  to  reside  at 
the  College,  yet),  considering  how  advantageous  his 
sustaining  the  office  and  performing  the  work  of  Presi- 
dent (as  hitherto)  hath  been,  and  foreseeing  how 
many  ways  it  may  prove  detrimental  to  the  affairs  of 
this  society,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  should  he  pur- 
sue such  a  design,  do  unanimously  request  the  said 
Rev.  Mr.  Mather,  that,  laying  aside  such  thoughts, 
and  not  too  deeply  resenting  the  matters  of  discourage- 
ment laid  before  him  in  said  vote,  he  would  continue 
his  care  and  conduct  of  this  society  as  formerly." 

In  conformity  with  this  solicitation   he  resolved  to 

retain  his  office  and  continue  his  non-residence.     To 

encourage  and  support  him  in  which  resolution,  on  the 

Proceed-     6th  of  the  ensuing  April,  the  Corporation  of  the  Col- 


tionp°ra  ^e&e  Passed  a  vote  m  tne  following  words.  f  "  Voted, 
that  whereas  the  Reverend  President  has,  by  his 
manifold  services  to  the  College,  laid  us  under  deep 
obligations  to  acknowledge  the  same,  the  Corporation, 
out  of  a  sense  hereof,  and  as  a  testimony  of  their 
gratitude,  do  pray  him  to  accept  of,  and  hereby  do 
order  the  Treasurer  forthwith  to  pay  unto  the  said 
Reverend  President,  the  sum  of  seventy  pounds  out  of 
the  College  Treasury  ;  "  and  in  the  June  following  the 

*  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  11.  t  Ibid. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  77 


Corporation  passed  another  vote,  "  that  the  College   CHAPTER 

Treasurer  should  pay  to  the  Reverend  President  such  '. — 

money  as  he  should  need  to  purchase  a  horse  with, 
for  the  better  capacitating  him  to  make  his  visits  at 
the  College." 
-  The  affairs  of  the  College  were  thus  situated  when  College 

V  i  11         charter 

information  was  received,  that  the  charter  granted  by  negatived. 
the  colonial  legislature  in  1692,   had  been  negatived 
by  the  King  on  account  of  its  omission  of  any  provision 
for  the  exercise  of  a  visitatorial  power. 

This  event  was  probably  anticipated  by  President 
Mather  ;  possibly  it  was  not  unwelcome  to  him.  The 
affairs  of  the  College  were  thrown  by  it  into  a  state 
of  inexplicable  embarrassment.  The  sense  of  the  im- 
portance of  his  experience  and  services  was  greatly 
augmented,  and  the  chance  of  his  attaining  the  object 
of  his  returning  to  England  on  a  new  agency  in- 
creased in  consequence  of  it.  This  object,  it  is  ap- 
parent, he  began  now  to  propose  to  himself,  accom- 
panied with  a  strong  desire  "  to  spend  and  end  his 
days"  in  that  country.  Such  a  state  of  feeling 
was  most  natural.  When  a  young  man,  he  had 
visited  England ;  and  his  residence  and  reception 
there  had  been  so  satisfactory,*  that  he  would  prob- 
ably have  never  returned  to  this  country,  had  he  not 
been  compelled  either  to  give  up  the  living,  which 
he  then  held  there,  or  conform  to  the  established 
Church.  He  refused  the  latter,  and  returned  to 
Massachusetts  in  September,  1661.  Even  at  that 
time,  however,  he  seems  to  have  looked  with  a  wish- 


*  See  Notes  to  two  Discourses,  containing  the  History  of  the  Second 
Church  in  Boston,  delivered  20th  May,  1821,  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ware, 
Jun.,  p.  46. 


78 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


IV. 


CHAPTER  ful  eye,  perhaps  with  a  faint  hope,  towards  a  settle- 
ment in  England.  For,  in  May,  1 664,  on  accepting 
the  call  of  the  North  Church,  in  Boston,  to  be  its 
pastor,  he  annexed  to  his  acceptance  the  following 
condition,  among  others,  that  "  he  should  be  at  liberty, 
in  case  the  Lord  should  call  him  to  a  greater  service 
elsewhere,  to  return  to  England,  or  to  remove  else- 
where." During  his  recent  four  years'  residence  in  that 
country,  his  reception  and  treatment  had  again  been 
so  flattering,  that  he  would  willingly  have  remained 
there.  And,  although  he  returned  to  New  England 
with  a  well-earned  consciousness  that  he  had  fulfilled, 
during  his  residence  abroad,  his  entire  duty  to  the 
Colony,  and  that,  in  the  charter  he  had  brought 
home,  he  had  conferred  on  it  a  blessing,  yet  great 
numbers,  perhaps  even  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Province,  did  not  coincide  in  his  opinions  on 
that  subject ;  and,  while  by  some  he  was  received  with 
coolness  or  treated  with  neglect,  by  others  he  was 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  traitor.  Many  interests  and 
passions  combined  to  produce  this  state  of  feeling 
and  conduct. 

To  those,  who  had  formerly  had  the  chief  influence 
in  civil  matters,  the  loss  of  the  power  of  appointing 
the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Secretary, 
which  the  new  charter  vested  in  the  crown,  was  ex- 
tremely obnoxious.  To  those,  who  had  possessed  the 
chief  ecclesiastical  influence,  the  principle  of  tolera- 
tion, and  of  freehold  property  as  the  basis  of  political 
power,  was  not  more  satisfactory.  The  recognition 
of  judicial  appeals  to  England,  and  of  the  royal  power 
of  negative  on  legislative  acts,  was  equally  unpopular 
with  all.  The  privileges  thus  lost  were  deemed  inhe- 
rent in  the  old  charter,  the  prejudices  in  favor  of 


Cause  of 
President 
Mather's 
unpopular- 
ity. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  79 

which  were  universal.     President  Mather  himself  had   CHAPTER 

been     greatly   instrumental    in    deepening    and    ex-  ' — 

tending  these  prejudices.  He  had  gone  to  Europe 
on  a  special  mission  to  uphold  that  charter.  He 
had  returned  after  having,  not  only  consented  to  its 
abandonment,  but  become  the  open  advocate  of  an 
instrument,  which  annihilated  the  basis,  on  which 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  power  had  rested  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  Colony.  The  opportunities  he  had 
enjoyed  in  England,  of  convincing  himself  of  the 
impossibility  of  effecting  the  object  of  his  mission, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  acceding  to  the  proffered 
charter,  as  well  as  of  the  advantages  it  secured,  were 
not  shared  by  his  fellow  colonists.  The  loss  of  the 
old  charter  and  the  principles  of  the  new  were  known 
to  be  so  obnoxious  to  the  leading  characters  in  the 
Colony,  that  neither  Oakes  nor  Cooke,  the  agents  * 
associated  with  Mather,  had  dared  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility of  acceding  to  it.  One  of  them  (Cooke) 
was  openly  opposed  to  its  acceptance.  All  the  odium 
attached  to  the  instrument,  therefore,  was  concentrated 
on  President  Mather.  It  was  reported,  that  the  other 
agents  had  said,  that,  "  if  it  had  not  been  for  him, 
they  could  have  saved  the  old  charter,  and  that  he 
had  betrayed  the  country,  "f  And,  although  they  de- 
nied having  said  any  such  thing,  yet  the  opinion  of  his 
subserviency  to  the  crown  and  his  abandonment  of  the 
interests  of  the  Colony  was  very  general.  He  had, 
indeed,  brought  with  him,  in  the  form  of  letters,  some 
of  them  to  the  General  Court,  from  the  most  in- 
fluential friends  of  the  Colony  in  England,  both 
clergymen  and  laymen,  ample  testimonies  of  his  zeal, 

*  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  p.  861.          f  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 


80  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   talent,   prudence,  and  fidelity  ;  and  the  first  General 

! —   Court  under  the  new  charter  had  returned  him  "  thanks 

for  his  faithful  and  indefatigable  endeavours  to  serve 
the  country."*  But  one  branch  of  that  legislature 
had  been  selected  especially  for  the  occasion  by  Pres- 
ident Mather,  and  was  so  constituted  as  to  dissatisfy 
many.  All  the  members  of  the  Council  were,  as 
we  have  seen,  of  his  nomination,  and  composed 
of  "  his  friends,"  "  relatives,"  or  "  brethren  of  his 
church."  f  He  was  probably  guided  in  this  selec- 
tion, not  merely  by  personal  motives,  but  perhaps  by 
those  he  deemed  patriotic.  Realizing  the  importance 
of  the  new  charter,  and  anticipating  violent  opposi- 
tion to  it,  as  well  as  the  degree  of  unpopularity  to 
which  he  might  himself  become  exposed,  he  took 
care  so  to  use  his  influence  in  constituting  the  Coun- 
cil, as  to  secure  its  acceptance.  This  policy,  success- 
ful for  the  time  being,  sharpened  the  animosity  of  his 
political  enemies,  and  probably  multiplied  them.  It 
was  also,  unquestionably,  one  source  of  that  oppo- 
sition to  his  continuance  as  President,  without  being 
resident,  which  began  the  ensuing  year  to  appear, 
immediately  after  the  change  in  the  political  aspect 
of  the  Council,  consequent  on  the  new  elections. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  an  intense  desire 
should  become  fixed  in  his  mind,  to  escape  from  a 
country  where  he  had  to  sustain  ill  will  and  calumny, 
and,  if  possible,  to  establish  himself  in  one,  where  he( 
had  received  honors  and  gathered  laurels,  and  where 
he  had  reason  to  hope  to  be  kindly  entertained  and 
respected. 


*  Life  of  Increase  Mather,  by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  156. 
t  See  above,  p.  60. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  81 

This  desire  appears,  accordingly,  in  his  Diary  as  CHAPTER 
early  as  September,  1693,  in  the  form  of  supernatural  — — ! — 
influences  and  suggestions,  that  "  to  England  he  must 
go."  This  urgency  of  his  will,  he  construed  into 
"  something  divine  and  angelical."  *  In  October  and 
December  following,  and  in  January  and  March  of  the 
succeeding  year,  he  had  like  "  melting  persuasions " 
concerning  going  to  England,  f  When,  in  the  year 
1696,  the  news  of  the  royal  negative  upon  the  College 
charter  was  received,  he  was  again  "  wonderfully 
melted  with  the  assurance,  that  God  would  return 
him  into  England."  These  natural  cravings  of  an 
ambitious  spirit,  he  had  convinced  himself  were  per- 
suasions "  wrought  into  him  by  the  Lord,"  in  return 
for  "  his  fastings  and  prayers."  J 

As,  on  the  rejection  of  the  charter  of  the  College 
by  the  crown,  new  measures  for  the  organization  of 
its  government  became  indispensable,  and  the  prospect 
of  an  agency  in  England  on  its  account  more  dis- 
tinct, President  Mather's  spirits  revived.  ^  He  saw, 
in  the  event,  "  answers  of  God  to  his  prayers  of  faith," 
and  an  assurance,  that  "  he  would  not  be  disappointed 
in  having  an  opportunity  to  glorify  Christ  in  England." 

When  the  news  of  this  rejection  of  the  charter  by 
the  King  reached  Massachusetts,  Phips  was  no  longer 
Governor  of  the  Province.  He  had  been  ordered  to 
England,  to  answer  certain  charges  of  misconduct, 
and  had  died  there.  William  Stoughton  had  taken 
possession,  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  of  the  executive 
chair  of  the  Colony.  On  the  6th  of  July,  1696,  the 
Corporation  of  the  College  held  its  last  meeting  under 
the  authority  of  the  act  of  1692.  From  this  time  the 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX.  t  Ibid.  {  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 

VOL.    I.  11 


82  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   state  of  the  institution  was  one  of  extreme  embarrass- 

IV. 

'. —  ment.  The  Corporation  was  bereft  of  all  charter 

powers.  Its  former  charters  had  been  in  construction 
of  law  repealed,  by  force  of  the  judgment-  rendered 
against  the  old  Colonial  charter.  And  now  the  new 
charter,  which  had  been  devised  as  a  substitute,  was 
annulled  bj  the  royal  negative.  In  the  confusion,  into 
which  the  affairs  of  the  College  were  consequently 

college       thrown,  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton  assumed  the 

govern-  .    ...  .    .  .  TT 

mentreor-    responsibility   or    reorganizing    its    government,     lie 
Lieutenant-  came  to    Cambridge  on  the   12th  of  October,   1696, 

Governor  t  ° 

stoughton.  and  "  desired  and  appointed "  the  former  President, 
Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  "  to  continue  and  proceed 
in  the  institution  and  government  of  the  house,  and 
in  the  management  of  "the  estate  of  the  College,  ac- 
cording to  the  late  rules  of  said  College,  until  his 
Majesty's  farther  pleasure  shall  be  known,  or  a  legal 
settlement,  of  said  College  shall  be  obtained."*  This 
proceeding,  at  the  time,  was  deemed  so  critical  and 
important,  that  it  is  spread  in  detail  on  the  records 
of  the  Corporation,  and  the  memory  of  it  is  carefully 
preserved  f  in  the  Diaries  of  President  Mather  and 
Chief  Justice  Sewall,  both  of  whom  were  present  on 
the  occasion.  The  Corporation,  however,  so  far  as 
appears  by  their  records,  never  held  but  one  meeting 
under  the  appointment  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Stough- 
ton. This  occurred  on  the  9th  of  the  ensuing  Novem- 
ber, when  the  Corporation  passed  votes,  declaring  that 
"  the  obtaining  a  charter  of  incorporation  for  the  Col- 
lege would  be  of  singular  advantage  to  the  churches 
of  New  England,  both  in  present  and  after  times,  and 
that,  while  it  continued  as  at  present,  an  unhappy 

*  College  Records,  Book  IV.  p.  13.        .t  See  Appendix,  No.  XL 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  83 

settlement  of  it  might  be  feared,  donations  to  it  be   CHAPTER 

obstructed,    and  its  present    stock   endangered."  For  ! 

the  obtaining  of  it,  they  vote  an  humble  address  to 
his  Majesty,  and  pray  the  Lieutenant-Governor  "  to 
facilitate  the  affair "  ;  voting  at  the  same  time  an 
address  to  him,  acknowledging  his  care  and  favor,  and 
particularly  expressing  "  their  humble  thanks  for  his 
late  visitation  and  settlement  of  the  College." 


84  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    V. 

College  Charterof  1696.  —  President  Mather  discontented  with  it. — 
Takes  it  into  a  new  Draft.  —  The  Corporation  ask  the  General 
Court,  that  he  be  sent  as  Agent  to  England.  —  Governor  Bellamont 
arrives  in  New  York.  —  The  Corporation  address  him.  —  Second 
Application  of  the  Corporation,  that  the  President  obtain  an  Agen- 
cy. —  Its  Failure. —  Project  of  a  Vice-Presidency.  —  Its  Failure. — 
The  General  Court  again  vote,  that  President  Mather  should  re- 
side at  Cambridge.  —  Proceedings  on  that  Vote,  and  its  Result.  — 
Arrival  of  Governor  Bellamont  in  Massachusetts.  —  College  Charter 
of  1699.  —  Interference  of  the  Clergy.  —  Governor  Bellamont  ob- 
jects to  the  Charter,  and  it  is  lost.  —  Cotton  Mather's  Disappoint- 
ment. 

CHAPTER        IN  conformity  with  the  views  expressed  in  the  votes 

—  of  the  Corporation,  as  related  in  the  preceding  chapter, 

a  bill  for  a  charter  of  the  College  was  introduced  into 

Bill  for  the 

charter  of    the   Council  of  the  Province  on  the  27th  of  Novem- 

the  Col- 
lege, her,  1696;* and,  after  a  series  of  postponements,  criti- 
cal amendments,  and  warm  debates,  it  was,  on  the 
17th  of  the  ensuing  December,  passed  by  that  branch 
of  the  legislature.  The  general  and  usual  powers, 
included  in  such  charters,  were  granted  by  this  bill ; 
but  very  material  alterations  were  also  introduced, 
greatly  modifying  the  powers  contained  in  the  charter 
of  1692,  which  President  Mather,  in  the  flush  of  his 
political  influence,  had  obtained  from  the  first  Provin- 
cial legislature.  Of  these  the  most  critical,  and  symp- 
tomatic of  legislative  policy,  were  the  following. 

The  number  of  the   Corporation  was  increased  to 
sixteen.  —  The  office  of  Vice-President  was  created, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXV1II. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  85 

and  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Morton  inserted   CHAPTER 

V 

for  the    place.  —  Fellows   were   made   removable  for — 

disability  or  misdemeanor. —  Residency  at  Cambridge 
was  required  of  the  President  and  of  all  fellows  re- 
ceiving salary.  —  None  was  to  be  a  fellow  longer  than 
ten  years  without  a  reelection,  and  all  vacancies 
were  to  be  filled  within  twelve  months.  —  The  right 
to  hold  land  was  limited  to  two  thousand  pounds.  — 
In  all  sales  of  land,  or  disposal  of  revenues,  ten  mem- 
bers were  required  to  be  present ;  in  all  other  cases, 
a  majority.  —  The  President,  fellows,  scholars,  steward, 
cook,  and  one  servant,  were  exempted  from  civil  and 
military  services  ;  but  there  was  no  exemption  from 
public  taxes  for  lands  or  persons.  —  The  Governor 
and  Council  were  made  Visitors. 

Many  of  these  provisions  were  unwelcome,  and 
some  very  grievous,  to  President  Mather.  While 
the  bill  was  yet  pending,  he  acquainted  the  General 
Court  with  his  "  purpose  to  undertake  a  voyage  to 
England,  for  the  obtaining  a  settlement  for  the  Col- 
lege ;  "  *  indicating  thereby  an  intention  to  apply  to 
the  King  in  Council  for  modifications  of  the  legislative 
draft,  should  it  prove  unacceptable.  No  sooner  had 
the  bill  passed  that  body,  than  President  Mather,  his 
son,  and  two  other  clergymen,  all  members  of  the  clergy  re- 
Corporation  of  the  College,  presented  to  the  legisla- 
ture, in  writing,  objections  to  its  final  passage. 

Their  remonstrance  is  expressed  with  great  distinct- 
ness and  boldness.  In  it  they  request,  that  their  names 
may  not  be  inserted  in  the  bill  as  members  of  the 
Corporation,  should  it  pass  both  branches  without 
alteration.  The  discussion  excited  great  warmth. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 


86  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   "  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  saw,5'  writes  Sewall  in 
v. 
—  his    Diary,    "  the  Council   so  run  upon  with  such  a 

height  of  rage  before.  The  Lord  prepare  us  for  the 
issue.  The  ministers  will  go  to  England  for  a  char- 
ter, except  we  exclude  the  Council  from  the  visitation ; 
alleging,  this  reason,  that  the  King  will  not  pass  it, 
and  so  shall  be  longer  unsettled."* 

While  the  old  colonial  charter  was  in  force,  the 
clergy  were  consulted  by  the  legislature  in  great  emer- 
gencies, as  though  they  had  been  an  independent 
state  of  the  body  politic.  They  had  been  accustomed 
to  address  the  General  Court  with  a  consciousness  of 
authority.  The  loss  of  their  former  influence,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  provisions  of  the  new  Provincial 
charter,  they  already  felt  very  sensibly ;  and  a  satis- 
factory settlement  of  the  College  began  to  be  con- 
sidered by  them  as  intimately  connected  with  the 
preservation  of  what  yet  remained  of  their  power 
under  the  old  charter.  They  therefore  concentrated 
their  efforts  upon  the  attainment  of  this  object,  from 
combined  motives  of  interest  of  caste,  and  of  affec- 
tion for  the  institution. 

1697.         The  features  of  this  bill,  as  it  had  passed  the  Coun- 
cil,  being  thus  objectionable   in   the   opinion  of  the 
clergy,  President   Mather,    after   an    interview   with 
President     Lieutenaiit-Governor  Stoughton,  drew  up  a  new  char- 
drafts  a  new  ter  himself.     This,  being  introduced  into  the  legisla- 

charter.  .  .  ° 

ture,  occasioned  violent  debates. 

The  principal  alterations  effected  by  this  act,  in 
that  which  had  passed  the  Council  the  preceding  De- 
cember, were  the  following.  —  The  Corporation  was 
increased  to  seventeen  persons.  —  The  residency  at 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  87 

Cambridge  of  the  President,  and  of  such  fellows  as  CHAPTER 
received  a  salary,  was  required  after  the  act  should  be 
confirmed  by  the  King.  This  had  reference  to  Pres- 
ident Mather,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  continue  the 
superintendence  of  the  seminary  and  yet  remain  in 
Boston,  until  the  will  of  his  Majesty  should  be  known. 
—  The  right  to  hold  lands  was  so  far  extended  as  to 
include  the  value  of  three  thousand  pounds. — And 
finally,  all  houses  and  lands,  in  the  personal  occupa- 
tion of  the  President  and  fellows,  were  exempted 
from  taxation ;  and  three  servants  for  the  President, 
and  seven  for  the  College,  were  exempted  from  all 
civil  and  military  offices. 

In  the  passage  of  this  bill,  the  first  indications  were 
publicly  given  of  dissensions  among  those,  who  had 
for  an  uninterrupted  series  of  years  been  associated 
in  the  government  of  the  College.  Only  four  of  the 
Corporation  joined  in  the  remonstrance  against  the 
charter  first  proposed.  From  the  Diary  of  Judge 
Sewall  it  appears,  that  in  the  bill  drafted  by  President 
Mather,  and  finally  substituted,  after  being  amended, 
for  that  which  had  passed  the  Council,*  the  name 
of  John  Leverett  was  either  originally  omitted,  or 
subsequently  stricken  out.  The  attempt  was  prob-  eluded, 
ably  obnoxious  to  the  House  of  Deputies,  in  which 
body  Leverett's  name  was  reinserted,  since  it  appears, 
in  the  final  enactment,  among  the  other  members  of 
the  Corporation. 

Of  the  religious  controversies  of  the  period,  the 
College  now  became  the  object  and  arena.  Although 
the  particular  causes,  which  led  to  this  early  attempt 
to  exclude  Leverett  from  the  Corporation  are  not, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


88  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   at   this   day,  to   be   ascertained,    it  is  apparent  from 

'. —  what  is  known  of  his  character  and  history,  that  his 

general  views  on  many  subjects  did  not  coincide 
with  those  of  the  Mathers  ;  and  that  even  his  re- 
ligious opinions  were,  in  several  points,  adverse  to 
those,  which  they  deemed  important,  if  not  essential. 
His  connexion  with  William  and  Thomas  Brattle  was 
early  and  intimate.  Like  them,  he  had  stood  aloof 
during  the  delusions  of  witchcraft,  which  President 
Mather  had  countenanced,  if  not  credited,  and  of 
which  Cotton  Mather  was  either  a  chief  cause  or 
the  dupe.  Leverett  will  be  soon  found,  in  common 
with  both  the  Brattles,  encouraging  the  foundation 
of  a  church  on  principles  extremely  obnoxious  to  the 
adherents  to  the  old  ecclesiastical  doctrines.  Of  these 
both  the  Mathers  were  advocates,  and  aspired  to  be 
leaders  in  their  defence.  It  is  not  unlikely  also  the 
President  might  find,  that  Leverett  was  not  a  thorough 
supporter  of  his  personal  views  or  of  his  official  rela- 
tions. Perhaps  his  son  might,  even  thus  early,  in- 
stinctively apprehend,  that  Leverett's  star  was  destined 
to  be  ascendant,  and  to  obscure  for  ever  his  cherished 
hope  of  succeeding  his  father  in  the  presidency  of  the 
College. 

John  Leverett  and  William  Brattle  had  been  asso- 
ciate tutors  ever  since  1686.  They  had,  also,  for  the 
ten  years  ensuing,  the  principal  agency  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  institution  and  the  instruction  of  the 
students.  In  November,  1696,  Brattle  was  chosen 
minister  of  the  town  of  Cambridge,  and  gave  imme- 
diate evidence  of  his  disposition  to  set  himself  free 
from  some  customs  of  the  established  Congregational 
church.  He  preached  at  his  own  ordination,  and 
forbade  an  elder,  because  he  was  a  layman,  to  lay  his 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  89 

hand  upon  his  head  during  the  ceremony.     Both  were   CHAPTER 

deviations  from  the  established   practice  of  the  early  __ 

Congregational  churches.  * 

In  the  same  spirit,  Brattle,  during  his  ministry,  ob- 
tained a  vote  of  his  church,  that  a  formal  and  public 
relation  of  religious  experiences  should  not  be  deemed 
necessary  as  a  qualification  for  church  membership  ;  f 
that  the  examination  of  the  candidate  should  be 
referred  to  the  pastor  and  elders  ;  and  that  the  con- 
sent of  the  church  to  the  admission  of  a  member 
should  be  signified  by  silence,  instead  of  a  manual  vote. 
Every  one  of  these  points  was  also  a  departure  from 
the  former  usage  of  the  churches,  and  was  deemed 
important  by  both  the  Mathers  and  by  other  stern 
adherents  to  the  ancient  faith  and  discipline.  To 
these  Leverett  had  rendered  himself  obnoxious  by 
his  agreement,  in  religious  views,  with  the  Brattles. 
The  records  of  those  times  show,  that  differences 
in  religious  opinions  began  to  appear,  with  great 
violence,  in  the  legislature  and  in  the  towns,  and 
that  they  were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  College,  t 
The  Diaries  of  Judge  Sewall  and  President  Mather 
evidence  the  existence  of  these  dissensions,  and  their 
connexion  with  the  questions,  which  arose  concern- 
ing the  institution. 

The  heavings  of  these  theological  tempests  affected 
the  condition  of  President  Mather  as  well  as  of  the 
College.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  part  he  took 
in  them  constituted  one  of  the  elements  of  that  oppo- 
sition, which  ultimately  defeated  his  cherished  project 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 

t  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  VII.  p.  32. 

J  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 

VOL.    I.  12 


90  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   of  being  sent  as  an  agent  to  England,  for  the  purpose 

'        of  procuring  a  new  charter  for  the  College. 
Petition  for       No  sooner  had  the  act  of  June  2d,   1697,*  passed 

an  agency 

in  England   both  branches  of  the  legislature,  than  a  direct  applica- 

for  procur- 
ing a  char-    tion  for  the  attainment  of  that  object  was  made  to  the 

ter.  J 

General  Court  by  the  persons  named  in  it  as  members 
of  the  Corporation.  This  application  was  signed, 
"  Charles  Morton,  with  the  unanimous  concurrence  of 
the  rest."  It  expresses  "  the  great  concernment  to 
these  churches,  both  in  present  and  after  times,  that 
the  College  should  no  longer  labor  under  the  unhappy 
uncertainties  of  establishment."  To  this  end,  they 
desire,  that  the  Rev.  Increase  Mather  may  receive 
assistance  and  countenance  from  the  General  Court, 
in  undertaking  a  voyage  to  England,  to  obtain  the 
royal  approbation  of  the  act  passed  by  the  Assembly, 
and,  if  that  "  cannot  be,  then  to  endeavour  to  obtain 
such  a  charter  as  will  be  consistent  with  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  people  and  churches  in  this  country.' 
After  receiving  three  readings  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, on  the  15th  of  June,  1697,  the  proposition 
to  assist  in  the  project  received  a  decided  negative,  f  ' 
This  defeat  did  not,  however,  deter  the  members 
of  the  Corporation  from  presenting  a  petition  some- 
what more  formal,  signed,  "  Charles  Morton,  with 
unanimous  consent."!  This  was  read  on  the  same 
day  the  other  was  negatived.  In  it,  the  petition- 
ers state  their  "  utter  despair  of  obtaining  an  es- 
tablishment without  a  personal  application  to  his 
Majesty,"  and  that,  "  if  the  General  Court  dis- 
countenance that  proceeding,  they  shall  have  little 
heart  to  accept  the  trust  devolved  on  them."  It  was 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVIII.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XIL 

J  See  Appendix,  No.  XIII. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  91 

on  this  occasion,  that  the  Corporation  made  the  ap-  CHAPTER 

peal  to  the  "  gratitude  "  of  the  General  Court,  for  the  '- — 

accommodation  received  by  the  Colony  from  the  use 
of  their  money,  which  has  been  already  the  occasion 
of  remark.* 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  neither  of  the  petitions 
thus  signed  by  Morton,  arid  stated  to  be  "  by  unani- 
mous consent,"  appears  to  have  been  acted  upon  by 
the  Corporation.  There  is  no  record  of  any  meeting 
on  either  of  the  days  mentioned  in  them. 

Nothing  favorable  to  President  Mather's  agency  Agency 
having  resulted  from  either  of  these  applications,  his 
mind  was  reduced  to  a  state  almost  of  despair.  The 
first  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  under  the  act  of 
June,  1697,  was  holden  on  the  13th  of  the  ensuing 
July  ;  but  their  records  indicate  no  measures  touching 
his  mission  to  England.  Discouraged  and  wounded 
by  the  failure  of  these  applications,  he  resolved  to 
resign  the  presidency.  His  Diary,  during  the  months 
of  July,  August,  and  September,  repeatedly  avows  this 
intent,  f  But  his  affections  were  too  intimately  inter- 
woven with  his  position  to  enable  him  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  The  slightest  movement  in  the  legislature 
on  the  subject  of  the  College  revived  his  hopes.  No 
sooner  has  he  reason  to  expect  those  letters,  which  had 
been  solicited  from  Sir  Henry  Ashurst,  the  agent  of 
the  Colony  in  England,  recommending  President 
Mather  for  the  desired  College  agency,  than  his 
"  special  faith,"  and  "  the  inexpressible  meltings  of 
his  soul  "  are  renewed,  and  his  Diary  indicates  an 
ecstasy  of  joy  and  gratitude,  t 

His  mind  was  in  this  condition,  when,  about  the 

*  See  above,  p.  42.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  IX.  f  Ibid. 


92  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   middle  of  April,  1698,  the  Earl  Bellamont  arrived  in 

Y 

—  New  York,  bearing  a  commission  of  Governor  of  that 
Governor     Colony   and   of  Massachusetts   Bay.     Two   meetings 

Bellamont.  .  .  .  .         . 

ot  the  Corporation  were  held  m  May,  in  which  it  was 
voted,  that  "  a  messenger  should  be  sent  to  New  York 
with  an  address  to  the  Governor."  The  records  of  the 
Corporation  indicate  nothing  concerning  the  object  of 
the  address.  But  the  Diary  of  President  Mather 
declares,  that  it  was  to  "  desire  the  Governor  to  en- 
courage his  going  to  England  on  the  College  ac- 
count."* Bellamont  put  an  end  to  all  hopes  concern- 
ing this  charter  by  unequivocally  stating,  that  it  would 
never  receive  the  royal  approbation.  The  arrival,  how- 
ever, of  the  long-sought  letters  from  Sir  Henry  Ashurst, 
recommendatory  of  President  Mather's  agency,  raised 
his  mind  to  a  state  of  extreme  delight.  This  was 
further  increased,  when,  as  his  Diary  asserts,  it  ap- 
peared on  the  return  of  the  messenger,  that  Bellamont 
had  expressed  an  opinion  favorable  to  his  wishes. 
Petition  for  In  consequence  of  this  encouragement,  a  formal  ad- 
in  England  dress  was  presented,  on  the  14th  of  June,  1698,  to  the 
General  Court,  signed  by  "  James  Allen,  socius  se- 
nior," f  in  the  name  and  with  the  unanimous  concur- 
rence of  the  Corporation,  praying  that  President 
Mather  might  be  sent  to  England ;  and  stating,  in 
detail,  the  importance  of  a  charter ;  the  danger  of 
losing  the  College  without  it ;  the  loss  of  consider- 
able donations  on  account  of  its  unsettled  condition ; 
the  opinion  of  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  that  the  royal 
approbation  would  not  be  given  to  the  present  charter, 
and  that  the  President's  presence  in  England  would 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 

t  The  Rev.  Charles  Morton  had  died  the  April  preceding. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  93 

be  of  use,  an  opinion  to  this  effect  being  also  expressed   CHAPTER 

by  the  colonial  agent,  Sir  Henry  Ashurst ;  that  thus  - 

the  desire  of  a  resident  President  at  the  College  might 
be  obtained  ;  and  that  "  no  one  understood,  better  than 
President  Mather,  the  state  of  the  College,  or  had  a 
greater  acquaintance  and  interest  in  England,  or  on 
whose  discretion,  fidelity,  and  integrity,  more  depend- 
ence could  be  placed,  for  the  true  interest  of  the 
College  and  our  churches." 

This  memorial  was  read  on  the  same  day  in  Coun-  petition 
cil,  and  rejected.* 

In  the  debate  on  this  memorial,  the  conduct  of 
President  Mather  was  the  subject  of  severe  animad- 
version. The  pertinacity  with  which  he  pressed  his 
mission  to  England  had  occasioned  disgust.  He  was 
thought  to  use  his  ecclesiastical  influence  too  obtru- 
sively in  the  gratification  of  his  interest  or  ambition. 
His  strong  desire,  to  transfer  permanently  his  resi- 
dence to  England  was  known ;  and  his  zeal  for 
the  settlement  of  the  College  began  to  be  deemed 
but  a  pretence  for  the  advancement  of  other  pro- 
jects. A  strong  party  appeared  in  both  branches 
of  the  legislature,  and  especially  in  the  Council,  dis- 
posed to  thwart  his  plans.  His  disappointment  was 
extreme,  and  this  state  of  feeling  continued  some 
months.  Suddenly,  however,  his  "  glorious,  heart-  project  of  a 
melting  persuasions,  that  the  Lord  hath  work  for 
him  in  England,"  return  in  full  force  ;  and  for  no 
other  reason  now  to  be  ascertained,  than  that  a  propo- 
sition had  been  started  (November  26th,  1698),  by  his 
friends  in  the  Corporation,  for  the  appointment  of  a 
person  to  be  Vice-President,  f  "  to  remove  to  the  Col- 

• 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XIV.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 


94  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   lege,  and  do  the  work  usually  attended  to  by  Presidents 

'. —  resident  at  the  College  ;  "  and  also  that,  on  a  petition 

to  the  General  Court  for  assistance  and  countenance 
in  that  project,  "  a  discourse  had  arisen  in  that  body, 
about  an  agent  to  be  sent  to  England."  On  such 
slender  encouragement  he  writes,  "  Let  me  turn  all 
into  prayer.  Will  the  Lord  cause  me  to  hear  out  of 
England  what  will  revive  me  ?  Shall  I  see,  that  faith 
shall  not  suffer  an  utter  disappointment  ?  " 

On  the  3d  of  December,    1698,    the    project  of  a 

vice-presidency  wholly  failed,  and  the  General  Court 

General       renewed  their  vote,  that  President  Mather  "  remove  to 

quire  the      the  College,  and  take   up   his  residence  there  ;    and 

President  . 

to  reside  at  for  his  encouragement  vote  a  salary  oi  two  hundred 

Cambridge.  * . 

pounds  per  annum,  out  of  the  public  treasury,  from 
the  time  of  his  removal  during  his  residence  at  the 
College."  Nothing  could  have  been  more  contrary 
to  his  expectations,  or  adverse  to  his  hopes,  than  this 
vote.  It  indicated  no  disposition  to  encourage  him 
in  his  projected  agency  in  England.  He  perceived, 
that,  by  acceding  to  it,  he  put  an  end  to  the  gratifi- 
cation of  that  hope.  His  enemies  in  the  legislature 
were  not  ignorant  of  the  repugnancy  of  this  propo- 
sition to  his  views.  They  anticipated,  that  by  his 
removal  to  Cambridge  his  political  influence  would  be 
diminished,  and  a  new  obstacle  interposed  to  his  em- 
ployment in  Europe.  He  was  a  man,  whom  it  was 
thought,  on  the  one  hand,  not  desirable  further  to 
elevate,  nor,  on  the  other,  politic  to  offend.  Perhaps, 
under  the  influence  of  the  sectarian  jealousies  of  the 
age,  some  deemed  it  not  safe  to  trust  him.  Their 
course  of  proceeding  was  therefore,  at  once,  decided, 
respectful,  and  conciliatory.  A  committee  of  the  legis- 
lature was  appointed  to  communicate  the  substance 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  95 

of  the  above  vote,  and  to  urge  him  to  concur  in  its  CHAPTER 

views.      Two  detailed  contemporaneous   accounts  of  '. — 

the  interview  between  President  Mather  and  this  com- 
mittee, exist ;  one  contained  in  the  Diary  of  Judge 
Sewall,  a  member  of  the  committee  ;  the  other,  in  the 
Diary  of  President  Mather  himself. 

The  interview  occurred  on  the   8th  of  December,  President 

Mather  ob 

1698.*     On  the  one  side,  President  Mather  expressed  jectstore- 

siding  at 

his  dissatisfaction  with  the  limitation  of  the  office  to  Cartfafca. 
five  years,  and  that  his  name  was  not  inserted  in  the 
vote ;  his  discouragement  from  the  reduction,  in  the 
House,  of  the  salary  proposed  by  the  Council ;  the  un- 
settled state  of  the  College  charter,  and  the  want  of 
a  President's  house ;  urging  also  the  unwillingness  of 
his  church  in  Boston  to  part  with  him,  and,  above 
all,  his  love  of  preaching,  which,  he  said,  he  "  pre- 
ferred before  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  West  Indies." 

On  the  other  side,  the  legislative  committee  deny 
that  any  "  disrespect "  to  him  was  intended  by  their 
proceedings  ;  they  flatter  him  as  being  "  the  object 
of  general  desire,"  and  as  "  loving  work  ftither  than 
wages";  and,  as  to  preaching,  that  he  would  "  preach 
twice  a  day  to  the  students,  expounding  the  Scrip- 
tures." The  interview  resulted  in  a  promise  of  the 
President  to  communicate  his  answer  through  the 
Lieutenant-Governor. 

This  he  accordingly  did  on  the  16th  of  December,  President 

to  J  \     Mather's 

1698,  in  a  letter  equally  illustrative  of  his  purpose  and  letter  to 

]*          J  t  Lieutenant- 

of  his  character;!  in  which  he  declines  the  proposition 
of  the  General  Court,  urging  his  health,  his  advanced 
age  (being  nearly  sixty),  the  necessity  it  would  in- 
duce of  desisting  from  his  public  ministry,  as  other 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX.  and  No.  XI.         f  See  Appendix,  No.  XV. 


96  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  Presidents  had  been  obliged  to  do,  on  account  of  their 
-  other  work.  "  Should  I  leave  preaching  to  fifteen 
hundred  souls  (for  I  suppose  so  many  ordinarily  attend 
our  congregation),  only  to  expound  to  forty  or  fifty 
children,  few  of  them  capable  of  edification  by  such 
exercises,  I  doubt  I  should  not  do  well."  In  one 
paragraph  he  states  it  to  be  well  known,  that  "  I  have 
had  a  strong  bent  of  spirit  to  spend  and  to  end  the 
remainder  of  my  few  days  in  England."  In  another, 
he  complains,  that  his  zeal  for  the  settlement  of  the 
College  had  been  attributed  to  a  desire  to  gratify  that 
inclination.  To  put  to  silence,  therefore,  these  re- 
proaches, he  resolves  to  resign.  This  he  proceeds  to 
perform  in  the  following  cautious  manner,  address- 
ing Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton  ;  "  I  have  often 
(as  your  Honor  well  knows)  desired  to  resign  my 
relation  to  that  society  ;  and,  if  it  will  not  be  grievous 
to  you,  I  shall  to-morrow  (if  you  please)  deliver 
a  resignation  of  the  presidentship  to  the  Senior  Fel- 
low of  the  Corporation,  for  him  to  call  a  Corporation 
meeting,  in  order  for  the  choosing  another  President." 
This  threat  of  resigning  had  been  so  often  repeated 
by  President  Mather,  that  it  was  well  understood. 
In  the  course  of  the  discussions,  arising  out  of  this 
subject,  he  was  told  by  one  of  the  Council,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Board,  that  "  his  pretence  of  resign- 
ing was  but  a  flourish."* 

President  Mather  was  too  well  apprized  of  the 
sense  entertained  of  the  importance  of  his  services, 
in  the  station  he  then  held,  by  the  predominating 
ecclesiastical  sect  of  the  Province,  and  of  Stough- 
ton's  conformity  to  its  views,  to  fear  any  decision 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  97 

favorable    to    his   resignation    from    him,    particularly   CHAPTER 

at  a  moment  when  a  great  struggle  was  commenc-  1__ 

ing,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  College  perma- 
nently under  the  management  of  that  ecclesiastical 
sect.  This  became  distinctly  developed  in  the  course 
of  the  discussions,  which  occurred  on  the  passage  of 
the  next  proposed  charter  of  the  institution. 

The  urgency  of  the  General  Court,  however,  on 
this  occasion,  greatly  distressed  him,  "  it  being,"  as 
his  Diary  states,  "  a  thing  so  contrary  to  the  faith 
wrought  into  my  soul,  that  God  will  give  me  an  op- 
portunity to  glorify  Christ  in  England." 

Early  in  the  ensuing  year  (1699)  he  consulted  his 
church  on  the  proposal  of  the  legislature,  and,  on 
the  6th  of  February,  his  church  unanimously  refused 
their  consent  to  his  removal.  On  the  23d  of  this 
month  the  Council  of  the  Province  and  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  College  met  on  the  subject.  "  I  told 
them,"  he  adds,  "  that,  if  my  church  and  my  wife 
would  consent  to  my  removal  to  Cambridge,  I  would 
go.  Only  I  put  in  this  caution,  except  some  tidings 
from  England  prevent" * 

The  affairs  of  the  College,  and  the  negotiation 
with  President  Mather  relative  to  his  removal  to 
Cambridge,  were  in  this  state,  on  the  arrival  of  Gov- 
ernor Bellamont  in  Massachusetts,  which  occurred  in 
May,  1699.  In  his  message,  at  the  opening  of  the 
General  Court,  on  the  2d  of  the  ensuing  June,  he 
introduced  the  subject  of  the  College  by  saying,  that 
"  he  would  very  gladly  promote  a  charter  of  incor- 
poration for  the  College  at  Cambridge,  and  would 
heartily  join  in  an  address  to  his  Majesty  for  his  royal 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  TX. 
VOL.   I.  13 


98  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   grant  of  such  privileges  and  franchises,  as  his  Majesty, 

'        in  his  goodness,  shall  think  fit."     In  consequence  of 

college8     this  encouragement,  a  bill  was  brought  into  the  House 

1099.  of  Representatives  on  the  8th  of  July  following.  This 
bill,  in  its  general  features  and  powers,  conforms  to 
that  passed  in  June,  1697.  The  only  material  excep- 
tions are  contained  in  two  provisions ;  the  one  relative 
to  the  visitatorial  power ;  the  other  to  a  religious  quali- 
fication, now  for  the  first  time  attempted  to  be  intro- 
duced into  the  charter  of  the  College.  The  visita- 
torial power  was  reserved  by  this  act  exclusively 
"  to  his  Majesty  and  his  Governor  and  Commander- 
in-chief,  for  the  time  being,  of  this  Province." 

To  compensate  the  Council  for  their  loss  of  the 
visitatorial  power,  five  members  of  that  body  were 
appointed  members  of  the  Corporation  ;  and  the  act 
declared,  that,  "whenever  any  of  those  five  die,  or 
be  otherwise  removed,  or  dismissed,  such  vacancy 
shall  be  filled  up  out  of  the  Council  from  time  to 
time."  The  objections  of  the  Council  were  thus 
obviated  ;  and  the  act  was  so  modified,  as  to  coin- 
cide with  the  views  of  the  King;  which  were  fixed 
upon  establishing  the  principle,  that  the  visitatorial 
power,  as  a  branch  of  his  prerogative,  should  not 
be  shared  with  the  Council.  It  is  probable  that  this 
charter  would  have  received  the  sanction  of  Gov- 
ernor Bellamont,  and  ultimately  of  the  King,  had  it 
not  been  for  a  new  element  of  discord  inserted  at 
the  express  urgency  of  clergymen  of  the  Province, 
with  President  Mather  at  their  head.  Actuated  by 
apprehensions  arising  from  the  increase  of  the  Epis- 
copalian sect,  and  still  more  from  the  spread  of  lib- 
eral principles  adverse  to  the  rigorous  doctrines  and 
severe  discipline  of  the  early  colonial  church,  while 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  99 

the  new  College  charter  was  preparing,  and  on  the   CHAPTER 

day   before  its  first  reading,  eight  clergymen,  of  the  '. — 

greatest  influence  in  the  Province,  all  members  of  the 
Corporation,  presented  a  petition  to  the  General 
Court.  * 

In  conformity    therewith,   and  in    the    terms    pro- 
posed  by  these   ministers,  the  following  proviso  was  Petition  of 

*  the  clergy. 

inserted  into  this  charter  when  it  passed  both  branches 

*  "  To  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  and  the  Honorable  the  great 
and  general  Assembly,  now  met  at  Boston. 

"  The  address  of  sundry  ministers,  who  were  members  of  the  late 
Corporation  of  Harvard  College. 

"  Upon  consideration  of  the  deplorable  state  whereunto  the  College 
is  now,  for  want  of  charter  settlement,  reduced  and  threatened  with 
no  less  than  a  dissolution  and  dissipation  of  that  society  (the  conse- 
quences whereof  would  be  very  fatal),  if  due  means  be  not  used, 
without  any  delay,  to  prevent  so  terrible  a  calamity,  we  have  thought 
it  our  duty,  once  again  to  address  the  honorable  Assembly,  that  a 
charter  settlement  of  that  society  may  be,  by  them,  endeavoured. 

"  And  we  do  more  particularly  pray,  that,  in  the  charter  for  the 
College,  our  holy  religion  may  be  secured  to  us  and  unto  our  pos- 
terity, by  a  provision,  that  no  person  shall  be  chosen  President,  or 
Fellow,  of  the  College,  but  such  as  declare  their  adherence  unto  the 
principles  of  reformation,  which  were  espoused  and  intended  by  those 
who  first  settled  the  country  and  founded  the  College,  and  have 
hitherto  been  the  general  profession  of  New  England  ;  and  that  the 
power  of  visitation  be  so  expressed,  as  that  we  may  have  reason  to 
hope  that  the  charter  will  be  favored  with  the  royal  approbation. 

"  And  inasmuch  as  the  surest  and  the  most  likely,  if  not  the  only 
way  to  obtain  the  charter  settlement,  so  much  desired,  is  to  send  over 
an  agent  to  solicit  so  important  an  affair,  we  pray  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  take  that  matter  into  their  serious  consideration. 

"  If  these  things  be  done,  since  the  God  of  Heaven  hath  given  us  a 
Governor,  who  will  improve  his  great  interest  for  us,  we  are  not 
without  hope  but  that  the  College  may  again  flourish,  to  the  manifold 
advantage  of  more  than  this  whole  Province,  both  in  present  and 
future  times. 

"  Increase  Mather.  Peter  Thacher. 

James  Allen.  John  Dan  forth. 

Samuel  Torrey.  Cotton  Mather. 

Samuel  Willard.  Benjamin  Wadsworth." 

Boston,  July  1th,  1699. 


100  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  of  the  legislature.  "  Provided,  that  no  person  shall 
— '. —  be  chosen  and  continued  President,  Vice-President, 
or  Fellow  of  said  Corporation,  but  such  as  shall  de- 
clare and  continue  their  adherence  unto  the  principles 
of  reformation,  which  were  espoused  and  intended 
by  those,  who  first  settled  this  country  and  founded 
the  College,  and  have  hitherto  been  the  profession 
and  practice  of  the  generality  of  the  churches  of  Christ 
in  New  England." 

This  bill  passed  on  the  13th  of  July,  1699,*  and,  on 

the  18th  of  the  same  month,  it  appears  by  the  records 

Governor     of  the  General  Court,  that  "  the  bill  for  incorporating 

objects  to     Harvard   College  at  Cambridge  was   read,   and    His 

the  reli- 
gious quaii-  Excellency  objected  to  one  clause  or  paragraph  there- 

fication.  J         J  r        »      r 

in,  that  none  should  be  President  or  Fellow  of  said 
Corporation,  but  such  as  declare  themselves,  and  con- 
tinue to  be,  as  to  their  persuasion  in  matters  of 
religion,  such  as  are  known  by  the  name  of  Congre- 
gationalist,  or  Presbyterian." 

"  And  the  question  being  put  to  the  House,  whether 
they  could  consent  to  pass  the  said  bill,  leaving  out 
that  paragraph,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative." 

"  Then  William  Stoughton,  Elisha  Cooke,  Samuel 
Sewall,  Esquires,  and  the  Secretary,  were  nominated 
and  appointed  to  acquaint  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, that  His  Excellency  could  not  consent  to  the 
said  bill,  with  the  aforesaid  clause  therein,  and  that 
he  rather  advised  to  address  his  Majesty  for  a  royal 
charter  of  incorporation." 

From  the  terms  of  the  objections  made  by  Gov- 
ernor Bellamont  to  the  obnoxious  clause  in  this  bill, 
it  is  apparent,  that  he  apprehended  it  was  levelled 
against  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
force  of  it  was,  however,  far  from  being  so  limited 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVIII. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  101 

as   to    affect    only   those,    who    were   not    "  known   CHAPTER 

•y 

by  the  name  of  Congregationalist  or  Presbyterian." 
The  criterion  established  in  the  act,  being  "  ad- 
herence to  the  principles  of  reformation,  which  were 
espoused  and  intended  by  those,  who  first  settled 
this  country  and  founded  the  College,"  is  obvious- 
ly quite  as  effectual  to  exclude  those  persons  from  the 
government  of  the  College,  who,  although  Congre- 
gationalists,  adopted  religious  principles  and  discipline, 
different  from  what  were  sanctioned  by  the  platform 
and  the  practice  of  the  early  New  England  churches. 
That  such  was  the  intent,  and  that  for  this  purpose 
the  clause  was  carefully  constructed,  the  collateral 
contemporaneous  evidence  is,  perhaps,  conclusive. 
The  original  petition,  proposing  this  clause,  was  signed 
by  none  of  the  laymen  of  the  former  Corporation. 
Four  of  the  twelve  clergymen  (Michael  Wigglesworth, 
Nehemiah  Hobart,  Nehemiah  Walter,  and  William 
Brattle),  who  composed  the  Corporation,  were  not 
signers  of  it.  The  names,  also,  of  John  Leverett  and 
Thomas  Brattle  were  omitted  in  the  new  act ;  and, 
for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the  last,  the  Treasurer 
was  no  longer  permitted  to  be,  as  he  had  been  pre- 
viously, ex  officio,  a  member  of  the  Corporation.  The 
two  vacancies,  thus  created,  were  filled  by  "  the  two 
senior  tutors  resident  at  the  College  for  the  time 
being." 

The  religious  controversies  of  the  period,  which 
there  will  be  occasion  to  notice  hereafter,  and  the  part 
which  Leverett  and  Thomas  Brattle  took  in  them, 
sufficiently  explain  their  exclusion  from  the  bill,  to 
the  framing  of  which  the  adherents  of  the  early 
colonial  church  brought  their  united  influences.  The 
extreme  rigor  of  this  church,  during  the  existence  of 


102  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the  old  charter,  had  not  only  given  great  dissatisfac- 

! —  tion  to  members  of  other  sects  and  to  hostile  churches, 

but  had  scattered  seeds  of  discontent  among  those, 
who  preferred  the  Congregational  forms,  and  who 
even  embraced  the  general  doctrines  which  have  ob- 
tained the  name  of  "  orthodox." 

Until  the  introduction  into  the  General  Court  of 
this  bill  for  a  charter  of  the  College,  nothing  appears 
in  the  Diary  of  Cotton  Mather,  indicating  any  con- 
currence or  interest  in  his  father's  views  concerning 
an  agency  in  England.  But  no  sooner  had  this  bill 
been  introduced,  than  he  enters  upon  the  topic,  and 
watches  the  progress  of  it  with  characteristic  zeal  and 
sympathy.  His  own  "  particular  faith "  gradually 
became  very  vivid.  It  was  "  assured  to  him  in  the 
spirit  from  Heaven,  that  his  father  should  be  carried 
into  England  and  made  there  a  wonderful  glory  and 
service  unto  the  Lord,  and  that  his  own  opportunities 
to  glorify  the  Lord  on  that  occasion  will  be  gloriously 
accommodated."*  Circumstances  about  this  tii.  on- 
curred  to  excite  hopes  in  Cotton  Mather's  mind,  of 
succeeding  to  the  presidency  of  the  College,  in  case 
his  father  should  be  called  into  England.  Morton, 
who  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  the  candidate  for 
that  office,  was  dead  ;  and  few,  if  any,  of  the  clergy  of 
the  day  could  compare  with  Cotton  Mather,  in  classical 
learning,  extensive  reading,  or  literary  industry  and 
reputation.  These  hopes  were  probably  the  "  glo- 
rious accommodations,"  to  which  he  alludes.  The 
negative  of  Governor  Bellamont  to  that  bill  put  an 
end  to  these  expectations.  His  disappointment  is 
strongly  and  feelingly  expressed  in  his  Diary. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  103 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Temporary  Settlement  of  the  College.  —  Dissatisfaction  of  John 
Leverett.  —  Governor  Bellamont  recommends  an  Application  to 
the  King  for  a  Charter.  —  Proceedings  of  the  General  Court  there- 
on. —  Features  of  the  New  Charter.  —  John  Leverett  and  both  the 
Brattles  excluded  from  the  Corporation.  —  Agency  given  to  Gov- 
ernor Bellamont.  —  Disappointment  of  the  Mathers.  —  The  General 
Court  renew  their  Vote  for  the  Residency  of  the  President  at  Cam- 
bridge. —  President  Mather  removes,  but  soon  returns  to  Boston.  — 
His  Letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton.  —  The  General 
Court  negotiate  with  Mr.  Willard,  —  Proceedings  in  this  Nego- 
tiation. —  Exclusion  of  President  Mather. 

AFTER  the  negative   of  the  bill  for  a  new  charter  CHAPTER 
by  Governor  Bellamont,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter.  -  -  — 

1699 

"  a  temporary  settlement  "  of  the  College  was  made.  Temporary 


This  appears  from  a  letter  written  by  John  Leverett  to 
Mr.  Addington,  but  there  is  no  account  of  it,  either  c 
in  the  College  records,  or  in  those  of  the  General  Court. 
In  this  letter  Leverett  complains  in  no  measured  terms 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Corporation  at  a  meeting 
holden  under  that  "  new  settlement  "  ;  doubts  its  va- 
lidity, all  the  members  of  the  former  Corporation  not 
having  been  summoned  ;  and  considers  it  "  wonderful, 
that  an  establishment  for  so  short  a  time,  as  till  October 
next,  should  be  made  use  of  so  soon  to  introduce  an  un- 
necessary addition  to  that  society."*  The  language  of 
Leverett  indicates,  that  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
Corporation  under  this  new  settlement  ;  which  is  also 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XVI. 


104  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  to  be  gathered  not  only  from  his  exclusion  from  the 
VI'  former  bill,  but  also  from  his  name  not  appearing  on 
the  records  of  the  Corporation  among  those  present 
at  that  meeting.  The  letter  sufficiently  evidences 
his  dissatisfaction  with  the  proceedings  of  President 
Mather. 

The  year  1699  closed  upon  President  Mather  under 
circumstances  well  calculated  to  create  despondency. 
The  fourth  draft  of  a  charter  had  been  negatived,  and 
the  favorite  clause,  on  which  the  clergy  relied  for  re- 
taining their  supremacy  over  the  College,  had  been 
the  occasion  of  that  negative.  No  substitute  seemed 
likely  to  be  agreed  upon.  Governor  Bellamont,  al- 
though bent  upon  rendering  himself  popular  with  the 
predominant  party  in  the  country,  yet  dared  to  do 
nothing  which  should  recognise  or  extend  the  superi- 
ority of  the  Congregational  church.  To  secure  this, 
and  to  place  the  College  permanently  and  exclusively 
under  its  power,  were  the  objects  President  Mather 
proposed  to  himself.  The  tedious  drama,  however, 
was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  which  was  destined  to 
display  to  him  and  his  son  the  groundlessness  of  their 
"  celestial  assurances  "  and  "  special  faith  "  ;  and,  in- 
stead of  placing  either  of  them  at  the  head  of  the 
College,  removed  both  from  all  future  important  in- 
fluence in  its  concerns. 

The  subject  of  the  College  charter  slept  after  the 
last  negative  of  Bellamont,  until  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Court,  in  May,  1700.  Then  the  Governor 
again  revived  it  in  his,  address  at  the  opening  of  their 
first  session,  by  expressing  his  regret,  that  "  what  he 
had  proposed  last  May  session  for  the  advantage  of 
the  Province,  in  relation  to  the  settlement  of  the 
College,  had  been  so  coldly  received."  "  I  am,  in 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  10o 


consequence,"  he  adds,  "  about  discouraged  from  re-  CHAPTER 
newing  my  advice  on  this  head ;  yet  my  zeal  for  the — 

.  ,.  .  ...  ~  .  .       Governor 

public   service  will  not  suffer  me  to  pass  it  over  m  Beiiamont 
silence.     The  settlement  of  the  College  will  best  be  mends'™ 
obtained,  in  my  opinion,  by  addressing  the  King;  for  to  the  King 

J        r         .     '       J      „  for  a  char- 

hlS  royal  charter  of  privileges."  ter. 

In  consequence  of  this  suggestion,   a  vote    passed 
the  Council  on  the  1 1  th  of  the  ensuing  June,  that  an 
application  should  be  made   to  his  Majesty,  by  way  Proceed- 
of  address,  for  the  settlement  of  the  College.     This  bin  for  a 

If  T  T    1  •  f       neW  C"ar' 

mode  or  proceeding  did  not  receive  the  concurrence  of  ter. 
the  House  of  Representatives.  They  preferred  to 
prepare  a  charter  in  form,  which  should  be  "  hum- 
bly solicited  "  from  his  Majesty.  In  the  course  of 
preparing  it,  the  question  concerning  the  right  of 
nominating  the  members  of  the  Corporation  assumed 
a  somewhat  serious  aspect.  The  strength  of  the 
Mathers  and  the  ministers  lay  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  Council  had  given  great  dis- 
satisfaction to  both  by  the  pertinacity  it  had  mani- 
fested on  the  subject  of  the  visitatorial  power,  where- 
by one  charter  had  been  lost.  Nor  were  they  more 
content  with  the  manner  in  which  the  Council  had 
yielded  its  claim  to  a  portion  of  that  power,  by 
insisting  upon  such  a  modification  of  the  last  act, 
as  that  five  of  its  members  should  always  con- 
stitute a  portion  of  the  Corporation.  In  order  to 
secure  to  themselves  the  control  of  the  election, 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  28th  of  June, 
sent  up  to  the  Council  a  resolve,  that  "  the  nomination 
of  persons  for  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  College  be 
attended  this  afternoon,  and  be  proceeded  in,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  election  of  Counsellors."  As 
under  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary  the  General 
VOL.  i.  14 


106  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  Court J  or  Assembly  chose  Counsellors  by  joint  ballot 
'  in  convention,  the  effect  of  this  resolve  was  to  deprive 
the  Council  of  their  negative  upon  the  election  of 
members  of  the  Corporation.  The  resolve  was,  of 
course,  negatived  in  that  body ;  and,  a  conference, 
which  was  proposed  and  accepted,  resulted  in  the 
nomination,  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  of 
President,  Vice-President,  and  all  the  members  of  the 
Corporation,  which,  after  having  been  "  read "  and 
"  voted  severally,"  was  agreed  upon  in  concurrence 
by  the  Council. 

The  number  of  the  Corporation  was,  by  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  as  in  the  preceding,  seventeen,  but 
the  Council  no  longer  was  to  be  represented  by  five 

Exclusion    of  its  members.     By  omitting  the  name  of  William 

of  Leverett    _.  ..  •   «     '   •  i»  « • 

and  the       .Brattle,  minister  of  Cambridge,  and  also  that  of  "  the 

Brattles. 

Treasurer,"  (Thomas  Brattle,)  they  were  both  ex- 
cluded from  the  board.  This  exclusion  had  unques- 
tionable reference  to  religious  opinions ;  and,  if  not 
their  work,  was,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  very  accept- 
able to  the  Mathers,  at  that  time  engaged  in  a  bitter 
theological  controversy,  in  opposition  to  doctrines 
which  the  Brattles  favored.  The  name  of  Leverett 
also  no  longer  appears  among  the  members  of  the 
Corporation,  although,  being  at  that  time  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  his  appointment  might 
have  been  expected,  as  likely  to  be  pleasing  to  the 
legislature,  and  also  on  account  of  his  acquaintance 
with  the  interests  of  the  College,  and  the  share  he 
had  so  long  possessed  in  its  government.  But  these 
considerations  were  outweighed  by  the  fact,  that  he 
had  identified  himself  with  the  Brattles  in  support 
of  doctrines,  deemed  heretical  bv  those  who  took  the 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  1Q7 


VI. 


Platform  of  the  New  England  churches  as  the  stand-   CHAPTER 
ard  of  orthodoxy. 

Although  Governor  Bellamont  had  negatived  the 
act  which  passed  in  1 699,  on  account  of  the  associa- 
tion of  the  Council  with  him  in  the  visitatorial  power, 
jet  a  like  provision  was  inserted  in  the  act  now 
passing  ;  the  only  difference  being,  that,  in  the  former, 
the  visitatorial  power  was  directly  invested,  arid  in  the 
latter  it  was  reserved.  The  clause  containing  it  was 
as  follows  ;  "  And,  for  preventing  of  irregularity  in 
the  government  of  the  College,  we  do  hereby  reserve 
a  power  of  visitation  thereof  in  ourself,  our  heirs,  and 
successors,  by  the  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief, 
together  with  our  Council  for  the  time  being,  of  our 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  aforesaid,  to  be  exer- 
cised by  our  Governor,  or  Commander-in-chief,  and 
Council,  when  and  so  often  as  they  shall  see  cause." 

The  clause  providing  for  a  religious  qualification  in 
the  officers  of  the  government  and  instruction  was 
omitted  in  this  act.  The  ancient  ecclesiastical  pre- 
ponderance was,  however,  secured,  by  excluding  the 
names  of  Leverett  and  of  the  Brattles,  and  by  in- 
serting in  their  place,  and  in  that  of  the  five  mem- 
bers of  the  Council,  the  names  of  Peter  Thacher, 
Samuel  Angier,  Henry  Gibbs,  Jonathan  Pierpont, 
Benjamin  Wadsworth,  and  John  White.  The  seven- 
teen members  of  the  Corporation,  with  the  exception 
of  White  and  the  Senior  Resident  Fellows,  were  thus 
all  clergymen ;  of  whom  a  great  majority  were  of  the 
predominating  religious  sect. 

This  act  was  in  the  form  of  "  heads  of  a  char- 
ter," to  be  presented  to  his  Majesty  for  enactment. 
While  it  was  in  its  passage,  an  address  to  Governor 
Bellamont,  being  prepared,  was  passed  contempora- 


108  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    neously  with  the  act  on  the  9th  of  July,   1700.*   Ill 

__  this   address    the    General    Court   say  ;    "It   having 

pleased  your  Excellency  to  consent  and  join  with  us 
in  our  humble  address  to  his  Majesty,  for  a  settlement 
of  the  College  at  Cambridge,  within  this  Province, 
agreeably  to  the  ends  and  intent  of  the  first  founders  ; 
and  several  articles  as  the  heads  of  a  charter  for  the 
incorporating  the  said  College  having  been  agreed  to ; 
we  are  bold  to  present  the  same  to  your  Lordship, 
Agency  and  withal  humbly  to  pray,  that  your  Lordship  would 

for  the  .  .  .  .  . 

charter        be  pleased  to  improve  your  interest  with  his  Majesty 
Governor     and  the  ministers  of  state,  in  behalf  of  this  Province, 

Bellamont. 

for  the  obtainment  of  his  Majesty's  grace  and  favor  in 
this  matter." 

This  application  to  Bellamont,  instead  of  a  special 
agency  in  England,  was  a  death-blow  to  President 
Mather's  expectations.  His  own  Diary,  for  this  period, 
is  missing.  That  of  his  son  exists ;  f  in  which  an 
intense  desire  that  his  father  should  be  gratified,  and 
his  own  self-delusion  on  the  subject  of  his  special  faith, 
are  manifested  to  a  degree,  that  would  be  incredible, 
had  we  not  his  own  authority  in  evidence  of  his  ex- 
treme infatuation. 

After  a  series  of  exciting  exercises  of  prayer  and 
faith,  after  genuflexions  and  prostrations  and  super- 
natural spiritual  elevations,  and  after  an  angel  had 
confirmed  his  special  faith  in  the  certainty  of  a  mission 
to  England  for  his  father,  the  whole  resulted  in  utter 
disappointment.  In  the  bitterness  of  his  anger  he 
exclaims,  that  "  Governor  Bellamont,  not  without 
base  unhandsomeness  "  had  deceived  him ;  and  that 
Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton,  "  who  had  formerly 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVIII.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  109 

been  for  his  father's  agency,  now  (not  without  great  CHAPTER 
ebullition  of  unaccountable  prejudice  and  ingratitude)  -  '.  — 
appeared  with  all  the  little  tricks  imaginable  to  con- 
found it." 

Thus  this  particular  faith,  which  had  been  enter- 
tained, with  various  interchanges  of  hope  and  fear, 
for  more  than  eight  years,  in  President  Mather's 
mind,  proved  at  last  a  delusion  ;  excited  by  the  nat- 
ural wishes  of  his  own  heart,  and  encouraged  by  the 
vain  promises  of  two  or  three  slippery  politicians, 
who,  when  their  own  ends  were  answered,  were 
not  unwilling  to  disappoint  his  expectations. 

After   this   sad   termination  of  President  Mather's 


•        -n  ment  of  the 

hopes,  all  thoughts  of  an  agency  in  England  were,  for  Mathers. 
the  present  at  least,  laid  aside.  The  projected  College 
charter  was  intrusted,  for  its  negotiation,  to  Governor 
Bellamont,  who  died  before  he  returned  to  England. 
With  him  perished  all  expectation  of  attaining  it  ; 
and  no  subsequent  attempt  was  ever  made  to  obtain 
a  College  charter  from  the  crown. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  project  of  transferring 
the  contemplated  agency  from  President  Mather  to 
Earl  Bellamont,  that  of  compelling  the  former  either 
to  reside  at  Cambridge,  or  to  resign  his  presidency, 
was  adopted  by  the  General  Court.  On  the  10th  of  1700. 
July,  a  resolve  was  sent  up  from  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  was  immediately  concurred  in  by  the 
Council  and  approved  by  the  Governor,  "  that  two 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds  per  annum  be  allowed, 
and  to  be  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury,  to  the 
President  of  the  College  ;  that  the  person  chosen 
President  should  reside  at  Cambridge  ;  "  and  a  Com- 
mittee was  appointed  by  both  branches,  "  to  wait  on 
the  Rev.  Increase  Mather,  and  acquaint  him,  that  this 


110  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    Court  hath  chosen  him  President  of  Harvard  College. 

VI 

'. —  and  desire  him  to  accept  of  said  office,  and  so  expect 

that  he  repair  to  and  reside  at  Cambridge  as  soon  as 
may  be.  The  said  Committee  to  make  report  of  said 
President's  answer  to  this  Court." 

On  the  llth  of  July,  they  reported,  "That  Mr. 
Mather  could  not  remove  without  acquainting  his 
church.  If  they  consented  to  give  him  up  to  this 
work,  he  would,  as  to  his  own  person,  remove  to 
Cambridge,  but  could  not  see  his  way  clear  to  remove 
his  family,  until  he  heard  of  the  passing  of  the  char- 
ter in  England." 

The  uncertainty  which  this  answer  indicated,  was 
not  satisfactory  to  the  General  Court,  and  a  message 
was  immediately  sent  to  Mr.  Mather  by  them,  "  to  call 
a  meeting  of  his  church  this  evening  on  the  said  occa- 
sion." Accordingly,  on  the  next  day,  it  was  notified  to 
the  Council  by  one  of  the  members  of  Mr.  Mather's 
church,  that,  "  having  had  a  meeting  in  pursuance  of 
the  directions  of  the  Court,  they  had  consented  to  his 
going  to  Cambridge,  and  that  said  Mr.  Mather  re- 
ferred himself  to  his  former  answer." 

On  the  next  day  a  Committee  was  appointed,  "  to 
take  care  that  a  suitable  place  be  provided  at  Cam- 
bridge for  the  reception  and  entertainment  of  the 
President,  and  to  consider  what  ought  to  be  done 
with  respect  to  a  house  already  built  for  a  Presi- 
dent's house." 

President         The  Committee  immediately  attended  to  their  duty,* 

Mather  re-     •       ,         ,  -      .  . 

moves  to  and,  the  necessary  accommodations  being  prepared, 
President  Mather,  in  July,  1700,  apparently  estab- 
lished himself  permanently  at  Cambridge. 


*  See  Records  of  General  Court. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  1H 

In   the    same  session  the  General  Court  passed  a  CHAPTER 
vote,  vesting  in  Increase  Mather,  as  President,  Samuel  ' 

Willard,  as  Vice-President,  and  the  other  persons 
named  in  the  last-mentioned  College  charter,  the 
general  care  and  superintendence  of  the  College.  * 

President  Mather  continued  his  residence  at  Cam- 
bridge, however,  no  longer  than  till  the  17th  of  Octo- 
ber following.  On  this  day  he  removed  to  Boston,  and 
addressed  a  letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton, 
"  giving  an  account  of  his  inspection  of  the  College 
whilst  he  resided  there,  and  containing  the  reasons 
for  his  removal  from  Cambridge,  as  not  having  his 
health  there,  and  desiring  that  another  President  may 
be  thought  of." 

This  letter  was  communicated  to  the  General  Court 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1701,  and,  on  the  14th  of 
March  following,  a  resolve  passed  that  body,  which, 
after  reciting,  that,  "  forasmuch  as  the  Constitution 
requires  that  the  President  reside  at  Cambridge,  which 
is  now  altered  by  his  removal  from  thence,  and  to  the 
intent,  that  a  present  necessary  oversight  be  taken  of 
the  College,"  proceeds  to  invest  all  the  former  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation  with  the  superintendence  of 
the  College  ;  "  and,  in  case  of  Mr.  Mather's  refusal, 
absence,  sickness,  or  death,  Mr.  Samuel  Willard  is 


nominated  to  be  Vice-President  ;  and,  with  the  others  pointed. 
before    named,    invested   with   like    powers   and   au- 
thority, in  all  respects." 

On  the  ensuing  day  the  General  Court  appointed 
a  Committee,  of  which  John  Leverett  was  chairman, 
"  to  take  effectual  care  that  the  President's  house  be 
repaired,"  the  charges  for  which  are  to  be  allowed 

*  See  Records  of  General  Court. 


112  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   by  the    Governor  and   Council,  and  paid  out  of   the 

VI. 

treasury. 

Upon  this  it  appears,  that  President  Mather  again 
transferred  his  residence  to  Cambridge,  and  remained 
there  until  the  30th  of  June,  1701,  when  he  addressed 

President     a  letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton,*  equally 

m|  ,  ,  O  9  JL  •/ 

letter  to      illustrative    of  his    motives  and  character ;   in  which 

Lieutenant.  .  . 

Governor     he  unequivocally  indicates,  that  his  expectation  and 

Stoughton.     _  .  . 

intent  were  to  retain  the  office  of  President,  and  avoid 
the  obligation  of  fixing  his  residence  at  Cambridge. 
His  letter  is  well  adapted  to  remove  objections  to  his 
views,  and  to  excite  a  spirit  favorable  to  their  attain- 
ment. He  carefully  limits  the  grounds  of  his  unwill- 
ingness to  remove  his  family  to  Cambridge,  to  "  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  College ; "  a  reason,  which,  as 
a  settlement  was  daily  expected,  would  be  considered 
as  temporary,  and  the  more  likely  to  be  acquiesced  in 
by  the  General  Court,  f  In  order  that  the  spirit  of 
sectarianism  should  come  in  aid  of  his  views,  he  also 
takes  care  to  sound  the  alarm  upon  points  of  religious 
controversy  then  in  a  state  of  heated  excitement,  and 
to  warn  the  legislature,  "  how  fatal  it  would  be  for 
the  interest  of  religion,  should  one  disaffected  to  the 
order  of  the  Gospel,  as  professed  and  practised  in  the 
churches  of  New  England,  preside  over  the  semi- 
nary." 

This  letter  was  laid  before  the  General  Court  early 
in  the  ensuing  August  (1701),  and  was  received  and 
entertained  by  them  with  every  outward  mark  of 
respect.  They  immediately  appointed  a  Committee 
to  "  signify  to  President  Mather  that  the  Court  desired 
to  speak  with  him  at  3  o'clock,  post  meridiem,  relating 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XVII.  f  Ibid. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  113 

to  the  affairs  of  the  College."     On    his   attendance,   CHAPTER 

the  record  states,  that  "  Mr.  Speaker  and  the  Repre-  L_ 

sentatives  were  desired  to  come  up  to  the  Council 
Chamber,  when  Mr.  Mather  acquainted  the  Court, 
that  he  was  removed  from  Cambridge  to  Boston, 
and  as  the  College  remained  unsettled,  he  did  not 
think  fit  to  continue  his  residence  there,  and  looked 
at  it  as  a  hardship  to  expect  his  removing  his  family 
thither  ;  but,  if  the  Court  thought  Jit  to  desire  he  should 
continue  his  care  of  the  College  as  formerly,  he  would 
do  so."  * 

This  intimation  of    President  Mather   received  no  Proceed- 

ings  of  the 

favor  in  either  branch  of  the  legislature.  After  having  General 
been  for  eight  years  foiled  in  their  attempts  to  estab- 
lish a  resident  President  at  the  College  by  the 
pertinacious  resistance  of  Mr.  Mather,  a  prevalent 
disposition  was  manifested  to  look  elsewhere  for  a 
head  of  the  institution,  and  no  longer  to  submit  its 
welfare  to  the  caprice  of  an  individual,  who  would 
neither  reside  nor  resign. 

The  House  of  Representatives  immediately  sent 
up  to  the  Council  a  resolve  founded  upon  the  fact, 
"  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Increase  Mather  had  acquainted 
this  Court,  that  he  can  with  no  conveniency  any 
longer  reside  at  Cambridge,  and  take  care  of  the 
College  there,"  and  appointed  a  committee  to  be 
joined  by  the  Council "  to  wait  upon  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Willard,  arid  desire  him  to  accept  the  care  and  charge 
of  the  said  College,  and  to  reside  in  Cambridge,  in 
order  thereunto."  This  committee  was  immediately 
joined  in  the  other  branch. 

To  this  application  Mr.  Willard  having  replied  on 

*  General  Court  Records,  August  1st,  1701. 
VOL.    I.  15 


1  14  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the  2d  of  August,   that  "  he  would  consider  thereof 
vi 

'. —  and  advise  with  his  church  and  give  his  answer,"  the 

Council  took  such  a  deep  interest  in  its  success,  that 
they  appointed  on  the  5th  of  the  same  month  a  special 
committee,  consisting  of  Elisha  Cooke  and  Penn 
Townsend,  "  to  attend  the  meeting  of  Mr.  Willard's 
church,  and  desire  their  consent  that  he  might  go  and 
reside  at  Cambridge  to  take  care  of  the  College." 

Difficulties  having  been,  however,  thrown  in  the 
way  of  their  success,  the  Council,  on  the  8th  of  the 
same  month,  again  resolved,  that  "  further  application 
be  made  to  Mr.  Willard's  church  for  their  consent  to 
his  going  to  reside  at  Cambridge  to  take  care  of  the 
College." 

Negotla-          While    this  negotiation  with  Mr.  Willard  and  his 

tion  with 

Mr.wn-      church  was  in  progress,  the  House  of  Representatives, 

lard,  who 

accepts  the  jn  contemplation  of  an  adjournment  of  the   General 

vice-presi- 
dency.       Court,    by  a  resolve   passed  on   the   9th  of   August, 

devolved  the  whole  power  relative  "  to  the  settlement 
of  the  College,  until  the  next  assembling  of  the 
General  Court,  upon  the  Honorable  the  Council." 
From  this  resolve  it  is  apparent,  that  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  a  resident  President  was  great ;  since  it 
provides,  that,  "if  it  may  be,  the  person,  who  shall 
have  the  chief  government  of  the  College  reside  there, 
and  perform  the  duties  that  have  formerly  been  dis- 
charged by  the  President;"  thereby  indicating,  that 
success  in  this  endeavour  was  dubious. 

From  the  course  of  events,  also,  it  is  apparent  that 
Mr.  Willard,  although  he  was  willing  to  take  the 
superintendence  of  the  College,  would  not  pledge 
himself  for  the  present,  to  reside  permanently  at 
Cambridge.  The  cause  of  his  reluctance  thus  to 
reside,  does  not  appear.  It  threw,  however,  such 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  115 

an  obstacle    in    the  way   of  success  in    the    negotia-   CHAPTER 

tion  with   him,   as    gave   the    friends  of   Dr.  Mather — 

hopes,  and  a  pretence  for  rallying  in  his  favor. 
Accordingly,  on  the  5th  of  September  following,  no 
arrangement  with  Mr.  Willard  having  been  made,  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  which  Dr.  Mather's 
strength  lay,  passed  a  resolve,  which  they  sent  up  to 
the  Council  for  concurrence,  "  desiring  Mr.  Increase 
Mather  to  take  care  of  and  reside  at  the  College." 
No  sooner  was  this  read  in  the  Council,  than  that 
board,  wholly  passing  over  the  object  of  the  resolve 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  appointed  their 
former  Committee  "  to  go,  with  such  as  the  Repre- 
sentatives should  think  fit  to  accompany  them,  unto 
Mr.  Samuel  Willard,  to  whom  this  Court  had  made 
application  to  attend  that  service,  to  speak  to  him,  and 
to  receive  his  answer  thereabout."  On  the  same  day, 
Mr.  Cooke,  chairman  of  the  committee,  "  acquainted 
the  board,  that  himself  and  the  other  gentleman  had 
spoken  with  Mr.  Willard,  who  declared  his  readiness 
to  do  the  best  service  he  could  for  the  College,  and 
that  he  would  visit  once  or  twice  every  week,  and 
continue  there  a  night  or  two,  and  perform  the  services 
there  to  be  done  by  former  Presidents."  * 

The  proceedings  of  the  ensuing  day,  as  they  closed  increase 
finally  the  connexions  of  Dr.  Mather  with  the  presi-  excluded 

from  the 

dency,  deserve  to  be  stated  at  large,  as  they  appear  presidency, 
on  the  Records  of  the  General  Court.  "  6th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1701.  The  resolve,  passed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  sent  up  for  concurrence,  and  read 
yesterday,  at  the  Board,  viz.,  *  That  Mr.  Increase 
Mather  be  desired  to  take  care  of  and  reside  at  the 

*  See  the  Records  of  the  General  Court  at  the  respective  dates. 


116  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  College,'  was  again  read,  and  upon  the  question  put 
for  a  concurrence,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative." 
"  Then  a  resolve  being  drawn  up  in  the  words  follow- 
ing, was  read,  passed,  and  sent  down  to  the  Repre- 
sentatives for  concurrence,  viz.  Resolved,  that  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Willard,  nominated  Vice-President 
of  the  College,  (together  with  the  gentlemen  named 
for  the  Corporation,  in  the  order  of  this  Court,)  be 
desired  to  take  the  oversight  of  the  College  and  the 
students  there,  according  to  the  late  establishment 
made  by  the  Court,  and  to  manage  the  affairs  thereof 
as  he  has  proposed  in  his  answer  to  the  Court,  viz.  to 
reside  there  one  or  two  days  and  nights  in  a  week, 
and  to  perform  prayers  and  expositions  in  the  Hall, 
and  to  bring  forward  the  exercise  of  analyzing." 

"  Which  resolve  being  returned  from  the  Repre- 
sentatives with  their  concurrence  thereto,  the  same 
was  signed  by  fourteen  members  of  the  Council 
present  at  the  board." 

This  last  formality  was  essential,  as  the  Council 
then  held  the  Executive  authority  of  the  Province ; 
no  successor  having  been  appointed  to  Bellamont,  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton  having  died  in  the 
preceding  July. 

The  eventful  presidency  of  Increase  Mather  was 
thus  brought  to  its  close  by  the  will  and  direct  applica- 
tion of  the  authority  of  the  legislature.  That  he  was 
well  qualified  for  the  office,  and  had  conducted  him- 
self in  it  faithfully  and  laboriously,  is  attested  by  the 
history  of  the  College,  the  language  of  the  legislature, 
and  the  acknowledgment  of  his  contemporaries.  It 
seems  obvious,  that  it  was  honorable  and  useful 
to  the  institution,  to  have  for  its  head  an  individual 
who  had  taken  so  large  a  share  in  the  politi- 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  117 

cal,  religious,  and  literary  controversies  of  the  times,   CHAPTER 

and  had  in  consequence  acquired  both  celebrity  abroad  . _J . 

and  influence  in  his  own  country.  Nor  does  the 
avowed  motive,  "  his  refusal  to  transfer  his  residence 
to  Cambridge,"  sufficiently  account  for  the  determined 
spirit  with  which  his  exclusion  was  pursued ;  particu- 
larly as  it  appears  by  the  vote  of  the  legislature  itself, 
that  the  superintendence  of  the  seminary  was  granted 
to  Mr.  Willard  upon  conditions,  which  did  not  re- 
quire him  to  fix  his  personal  residence  at  Cambridge. 
This  he  never  did,  although  he  continued  more  than 
six  years  the  chief  superintendent  of  the  College,  in 
the  office  of  Vice-President.  From  all  which  it  is 
reasonable  to  conclude,  that  the  avowed  were  not  the 
prevailing  motives  for  the  exclusion  of  Dr.  Mather. 
That  such  was  the  fact,  his  son  unequivocally  sug- 
gests ;  and  the  circumstances  of  the  case  sufficiently 
indicate  that  this  suggestion  was  not  altogether  gra- 
tuitous. 

Cotton  Mather,  in  his  Life  of  his  father,  directly 
asserts,  that  "  the  College  was  taken  out  of  his 
hands."  The  causes  of  this  proceeding  he  thus  re- 
capitulates. 

"  There  were  some  disaffected  persons,  who  were 
for  some  reasons  (God  knows  what  they  were)  willing 
to  have  the  College  taken  out  of  Dr.  Mather's  hands. 
To  accomplish  it  they  obtained  a  vote  of  the  General 
Assembly,  which  appeared  of  a  plausible  aspect ;  that 
no  man  should  act  as  President  of  the  College,  who 
did  not  reside  at  Cambridge.  The  leaders  in  this 
vote  knew  very  well,  that  the  Doctor  would  not  re- 
move his  habitation  from  a  loving  people  at  Boston, 
to  reside  at  Cambridge,  while  the  College  was  as  it 
then  was.  But  yet  his  abdication  was,  after  all, 


118  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER 
VI. 


brought  about,  I  will  but  softly  say,  not  so  fairly  as  it 
should  have  been.  I  think  there  are  thanks  due  to 
me  for  my  forbearing  to  tell  the  story."* 

Language  of  this  temper,  used  two-and-twenty 
years  after  the  blow  had  been  given,  sufficiently  evi- 
dences, that  the  wound  inflicted  by  it  had  been  deep 
and  immedicable.  Cotton  Mather  saw  plainly,  that 
there  were,  in  the  General  Court,  persons  "  disaffect- 
ed "  towards  his  father.  But  he  was  not  in  a  position 
to  discern,  or  to  judge  accurately,  of  the  causes  of 
that  "  disaffection." 
causes  of  These  causes,  however,  are  here  proper  subjects  of 

President       .  .  .  r      r  J__ 

Mather's      investigation,    as    the    exclusion    or    Increase  Mather 

exclusion. 

from  the  presidency  was  an  important  crisis  in  the 
history  of  the  College.  They  are  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  characters  of  both  the  Mathers,  and 
with  the  impressions  concerning  them,  made  upon 
their  contemporaries  by  their  respective  religious  and 
political  courses ;  a  general  developement  of  which 
is  indispensable  to  a  just  estimate  of  the  results. 

Increase  Mather  had  scarcely  passed  the  threshold 
of  manhood,  when  he  dashed  headlong  into  the  re- 
ligious controversies  of  the  period  ;  joining  ardently 
the  side  of  those,  who  maintained  the  doctrines  and 
discipline  established  by  the  early  emigrants  to  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  utmost  strictness  and  rigor. 

The  great  question,  which  divided  our  ancestors 
of  the  second  generation,  and  which  was  the  chief 
occasion  of  the  synod  of  1662,  when  divested  of 
the  technicalities  of  the  age,  was,  whether  any  chil- 
dren but  those  of  parents  in  full  communion  were 
subjects  of  baptism.  The  decision  of  the  synod  had 

*  Life  of  Increase  Mather,  by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  173.  Art.  29. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  119 

been  favorable  to  the  extension  of  the  rite  to  others   CHAPTER 

VI 

than  children  of  such  parents.     Against  this  decision  ! — . 


President  Chauncy  came  out  with  great  learning  and 
power,  in  a  work  entitled  "  Antisynodalia  America- 
na." Increase  Mather  joined  the  side  of  President  president 

Chauncy,   and  wrote  in  defence  of  his  opinion ;  and  early  reii- 

i  .  r.   ,  .  .         gious 

in  opposition  to  his  own  father,  who  was  a  minister  course. 

of  respectable  standing  at  Dorchester.  His  eagerness 
to  engage  in  controversy,  which  seems  to  have  been 
his  character  through  life,  made  him  obnoxious  to  the 
doubt,  expressed  in  after  times,  whether  his  motives 
were  "  zeal  for  truth,  or  a  desire  to  show  his  talents."  * 
He  had  soon  occasion  to  repent  his  haste,  and  to 
regret  the  part  he  had  taken  on  this  question.  The 
side  he  had  embraced  proved  to  be  neither  popular  nor 
prevailing.  There  occurred,  therefore,  to  Mr.  Mather, 
what  his  son  calls  "  second  thoughts."  Availing  him- 
self of  the  argument  of  his  opponent,  Mr.  Mitchell, 
he  declared  himself  "  vanquished,"  and,  passing  away 
from  the  side  of  President  Chauncy,  he  joined  that 
of  Mr.  Mitchell ;  and,  with  the  zeal  natural  to  new 
converts,  in  the  language  of  his  son,  "  obliged  the 
church  of  God,  by  publishing  to  the  world  a  couple 
of  unanswerable  treatises  in  defence  of  the  si/nodical 
propositions."  f 

In  a  like  spirit  of  adhesion  to  the  "  faith  and  order 
of  the  evangelical  churches  established  by  the  early 
fathers  of  Massachusetts,"  he  joined  the  party,  who 
"  would  not  hear  of  toleration,"  and  wrote  an  essay 
full  "  of  erudition,  in  favor  of  the  power  of  the  civil 
magistrate  in  matters  of  religion."  This  essay  be- 


*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  I.  p.  204. 

t  Life  of  Increase  Mather,  by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  50.  Art.  12. 


120  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   came  also  the  subject  of  "  second  thoughts."     It  "  was 

—  never  published."     "  And  it  was  well,"  adds  Cotton 

Mather,  "  he  did  not ;  for  anon  he  became  fully  satis- 
fied, in  the  declared  will  of  our  Saviour,  that  the  tares 
must  have  toleration"* 

These  retractions  of  avowed  opinions,  adopted  with 
more  zeal  than  foresight,  would  have  been  visited  in 
after  times  with  a  milder  judgment,  had  he  not,  in 
both  cases,  yielded  to  the  tide  of  public  opinion  ;  which 
the  deviations  in  his  course  indicated  at  once  an  in- 
clination to  stem  and  an  inability  to  resist.  It  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that,  among  the  stricter  sect  of 
his  brethren,  in  consequence  of  these  first  essays,  he 
became  obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  "  apostasy  from  the 
principles  of  New  England"  and  of  having  an  eye 
to  "  self-interest  and  self-ends"^ 

Whatever  suspicions  of  his  principles  his  conduct 
in  these  instances  might  have  raised,  they  were  all 
dissipated  by  the  subsequent  tenor  of  his  life  and 
writings.  For  the  ensuing  twenty-five  years  he  was 
regarded  as  the  champion  of  the  sternest  principles  of 
the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  fathers  of  Massa- 
chusetts. His  zeal  and  boldness,  combined  with  his 
position  as  pastor  of  the  second  church  in  the  metrop- 
olis, placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  clergy  ;  a  relation, 
which,  in  that  day,  the  President  of  the  College  was, 
by  universal  consent,  acknowledged  to  possess.  In 
all  forms  of  government  which  have,  like  that  framed 
by  the  people  of  Massachusetts  under  the  old  charter, 
religion  for  their  great  object,  the  political  and  eccle- 
siastical leaders  become  identical  in  policy,  if  not  in 


*  Memoirs  of  Increase  Mather,  by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  58.  Art.  13. 
t  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  c.  4.  §  11. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  121 

person.     Under  a  constitution,  in  which   none  were   CHAPTER 

admitted  to  be  freemen  except  church  members,  civil  '. 

and  religious  liberty  became  inseparably  interwoven 
in  the  minds  of  those  freemen.  As,  in  a  govern- 
ment thus  constituted,  the  only  path  to  influence  in 
the  state  is  coincidence  with  the  received  doctrines 
of  the  established  church,  it  results,  that  politicians 
never  fail  to  assume  the  aspect  of  divines,  and  divines 
to  possess  the  weight,  and  often  openly  to  assume 
the  attitude,  of  politicians. 

No  man  understood  better  than  President  Mather 
the  nature  of  the  constitution  under  which  he  lived. 
He  realized  the  advantages  he  possessed,  and  had 
every  disposition  to  avail  himself  of  them.  Happily  President 

...  ",,    Mather's 

duty   to  his  country,   religious  interests,   and  love  of  early  poiiti- 

,.      .  .      V.  .    ,         ,.  cal  course. 

distinction  all  united  in  giving  a  right  direction  to 
his  course.  In  the  great  crisis,  which  then  impended 
over  Massachusetts,  he  gratified  them  all  by  placing 
himself  in  the  front  rank  of  those,  who  resisted  the 
insidious  policy  of  Randolph,  and  the  unveiled  des- 
potism of  Andros.  Denounced  and  persecuted  by 
those  enemies  of  New  England  for  the  boldness  of 
his  opposition  and  the  severity  of  his  invectives,  he 
became  a  favorite  both  of  the  freemen  and  of  the 
clergy.  So  that,  when  the  interests  of  the  Province 
demanded  that  it  should  be  represented  in  Great  Brit- 
ain by  a  confidential  agent,  Mr.  Mather  was  deemed, 
"  by  the  principal  men  of  the  Colony,"  best  qualified 
for  that  office ;  *  as  uniting,  more  than  any  indi- 
vidual, the  influence  of  the  clergy  and  the  confidence 
of  the  freemen.  The  interests  of  no  class  of  men 
were  so  identified  with  the  preservation  of  the  old 


*  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  chap.  3. 
VOL.    I.  16 


122  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   charter  as  were  those  of  the  clergy,  and  the  policy  of 

' —  having  for  a  representative   abroad  the  head  of  that 

body  was  as  wise,  as  in  the  event  it  proved  to  be 
happy.  All  the  friends  of  the  charter  realized,  that 
they  possessed  in  him  its  most  vigorous  defender ; 
nor  can  it  be  questioned,  that  he  sailed  for  Europe 
with  the  fixed  intent  to  relinquish  none  of  the  priv- 
ileges the  colonists  had  enjoyed  under  it. 

When,  therefore,  after  the  lapse  of  four  years,  he  re- 
turned to  New  England,  bringing  with  him,  not  the  old 
charter,  that  desire  of  so  many  hearts,  but  a  new  one, 
which  no  person  sought  or  anticipated  ;  when  in  this 
the  appointment  of  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  State  was  taken  from  the  people, 
and  the  preeminence  of  the  Congregational  church 
was  wrested  from  the  clergy  ;  a  negative  on  the  ap- 
pointment of  Counsellors  reserved  to  the  Governor, 
and  on  the  acts  of  the  legislature  to  the  King ;  when 
religion  was  no  longer  the  object  of  the  frame  of 
government,  but  the  world  and  its  concerns  ;  and  an 
independence  of  transatlantic  control,  which  had  been 
enjoyed  by  two  successive  generations,  was  aban- 
doned ;  the  agent,  who,  in  opposition  to  all  his  col- 
leagues, had  accepted  and  approved  an  instrument  so 
repugnant  to  the  expectations  and  hopes  of  all,  and 
so  contrary  to  his  antecedent  opinions  and  promises, 
could  not  but  expect  to  meet  from  his  countrymen 
signs  of  deep  and  insurmountable  discontent,  if  not 
visitations  of  public  indignation. 

As  Mr.  Mather  had,  in  his  negotiation  in  Europe, 
President     conducted  with  exemplary  fidelity,   so  on  his  return. 

Mather's  J  J, 

negotiation   all  his  measures  to  meet  the  exigency   01  the  occa- 

in  Europe. 

sion  were  wise  and  prudent ;  but,  though  they  saved 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  123 

the  state,  they  caused  to  him  the  loss  of  popularity  CHAPTER 

and  influence.     By  letters  and  certificates  approving  ' — 

his  course,  from  clergymen  known  to  be  distinguished 
for  their  friendship  to  the  Colony,  he  deadened  the 
opposition  of  the  clergy,  or  secured  partially  their 
support.  By  procuring  the  nomination  of  his  per- 
sonal friends  as  the  first  Counsellors,  he  filled  that 
board  with  men  on  whom  he  could  rely  to  give  a  right 
impulse  to  the  government  in  its  outset.  By  obtain- 
ing the  appointment  of  Sir  William  Phips  to  the 
Governor's  chair,  he  gratified  the  people  among  whom 
he  was  a  favorite,  and  insured  an  administration  likely 
to  agree  with  him  in  policy,  and  to  be  guided  by 
his  counsels.  The  personal  qualifications  of  Phips  for 
the  office  of  Governor  being  few,  and  some  of  the 
Council  unpopular,  Mr.  Mather's  course  became  sub- 
jected to  censure,  and  his  motives  to  impeachment. 
At  this  day,  however,  it  scarcely  admits  a  question,  that 
his  precautions  were  wise,  and  his  arrangements  justi- 
fiable. It  was  a  case,  in  which  the  interest  of  the 
agent  was  identified  with  that  of  the  public.  He,  who 
had  taken  so  great  a  responsibility  in  favor  of  a  new 
form  of  government,  had  surely  a  right  to  provide, 
that  its  first  movements  should  be  in  the  hands  of  his 
friends,  and  not  be  placed,  by  any  false  delicacy,  at 
the  mercy  of  its  enemies.  His  policy  was  eminently 
successful.  Whatever  opinions  we  may  be  compelled 
to  entertain  concerning  his  measures  and  motives 
on  other  occasions,  his  conduct  in  this  great  crisis  of 
his  country  entitles  him  to  unqualified  approbation. 
It  is  scarcely  possible  for  a  public  agent  to  be  placed 
in  circumstances  more  trying  or  critical ;  nor  could 
any  one  have  exhibited  more  sagacity  and  devotedness 
to  the  true  interests  of  his  constituents.  By  his 


124  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


' 


CHAPTER  wisdom  and  firmness  in  acceding  to  the  new  charter, 
and  thus  assuming  a  responsibility  of  the  weightiest 
kind,  in  opposition  to  his  colleagues  in  the  agency, 


the  colonial    ,  ,  in- 

charter  of  he  saved  his  country,  apparently,  from  a  rebellion  or  a 
revolution,  or  from  having  a  constitution  imposed  by 
the  will  of  the  transatlantic  sovereign,  possibly  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  *  The  event,  though  prosperous 
for  his  country,  was  to  him  an  abundant  source  of 
calumny  and  animosity,  and  ended  in  his  loss  of  politi- 
cal influence,  and  his  severance  from  all  subsequent 
public  employment. 

The  political  and  religious  controversies,  which  en- 
sued upon  the  change  of  influences  consequent  on 
the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  were  unavoidably 
numerous  and  bitter.  The  statesmen  of  the  Colony, 
whose  office  Mather  had  assumed,  and  whose  part  he 
had  successfully  played  in  Great  Britain,  saw  with  little 
complacency  a  clergyman,  in  opposition  to  his  col- 
leagues in  the  agency,  taking  a  lead  in  new  modelling 
its  constitution,  selecting  those  who  were  destined  to 
give  it  the  first  impulse,  and  having  the  boldness,  in 
doing  this,  to  gratify  some,  and  to  disappoint  ana* 
deeply  offend  others.  There  was  also  a  class  of  inhab- 
itants, who,  although  able,  respectable,  and  wealthy, 
had  been  hitherto  precluded  from  all  political  power, 
in  consequence  of  not  being  willing,  though  Con- 
gregationalists,  to  subscribe  the  creed,  or  submit  to 
the  customs  and  discipline,  required  by  the  church  of 
New  England.  To  both  these  classes,  of  politicians 
and  religionists,  President  Mather  had  rendered  himself 
particularly  obnoxious.  To  the  former,  because,  as 

*  Memoirs  of  Increase  Mather,   by  Cotton  Mather,  p.  134. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  125 

the  open    advocate    and    the  supposed    author  of  the   CHAPTER 
new  charter,   they  attributed   to  him  all  the  loss  of — 

.    a  i  •    M  i  Animosity 

influence  and    privileges   consequent   on  that   mstru-  ofthepoii- 

m        i        i  MI  i  ticians  to 

ment.  io  the  latter  he  was  still  more  obnoxious,  as  President 
the  unqualified  asserter  and  earnest  defender  of  the 
doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  established  Congre- 
gational church.  At  the  head  of  the  political  party 
opposed  to  him  were  the  whole  body  of  former  As- 
sistants, whom  he  had  neglected  to  nominate  to  the 
first  Provincial  Council  of  1692 ;  many  of  whom  were 
chosen  into  that  Council  by  the  legislature  on  the  first 
opportunity  of  exerting  their  authority,  in  1693.  His 
colleagues  in  the  agency  saw  with  dissatisfaction  the 
successful  operation  of  the  new  charter.  The  feelings 
of  Elisha  Cooke,  one  of  the  number,  were  also  quick- 
ened into  resentment,  when,  after  having  been  nom- 
inated to  the  Council  by  the  legislature,  he  found 
himself  negatived  by  Governor  Phips.  His  friends 
were  many,  and  his  influence  weighty  ;  and  his  ani- 
mosity unavoidably  became  directed  towards  Mather, 
who  was  well  known  to  be  the  confidential  friend  and 
counsellor  of  the  Governor. 

The  loss  of  influence  and  of  place,  the  ultimate  lot 
of  President  Mather,  is  not,  however,  solely  to  be 
attributed  to  his  political  course,  or  to  his  religious 
zeal.  In  both  politics  and  religion,  the  tone  of  his 
writings  was  lofty  and  magisterial.  He  made  no  con- 
cealment of  the  high  opinion  he  entertained  of  his 
own  public  services,  and  their  claims  to  gratitude  and 
reward.  The  want  of  delicacy  with  which  his  ap- 
pointment to  another  agency  in  England  was  pressed, 
both  by  his  personal  friends  and  by  the  Corporation, 
of  which  he  and  his  son  were  the  guiding  spirits,  had 
a  natural  tendency  to  disgust  his  contemporaries,  and 


126  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    excite  in  them  an  inclination  to  thwart  his  plans  and 

VI.  ,.       .       ,. 

limit  his  power. 

character         The  character  of  Cotton  Mather,  his  son  and  as- 

and  lan- 

c"cmon0f  s°ciate  in  the  pastoral  care  of  the  North  Church  in 
Mather.  Boston,  was  of  a  nature  to  repel  and  not  to  conciliate. 
Indefatigable,  learned,  laborious,  but  vain,  opinionated, 
irritable,  and  ambitious,  he  held  no  measures  with 
those,  who  crossed  his  own  or  his  father's  path ;  and 
was  equally  open  and  imprudent  in  expressing  his 
resentments. 

The  Journal  of  Judge  Sewall  contains  graphic 
sketches  of  the  language  and  conduct  of  Cotton 
Mather  on  the  proceedings  in  the  Council  relative  to 
his  father.  * 

Sewall  agreed  with  the  Mathers  in  their  general 
views  of  politics  and  religion.  As  a  member  of  the 
Council,  he  had  taken  an  active  part  in  those  measures 
which  preceded  the  exclusion  of  President  Mather  from 
the  College  chair.  His  expressions  in  the  course  of 
debate  had  given  offence  to  the  father  and  son.  Their 
language  on  the  occasion  was  characteristic  of  their 
temperament.  Words  and  demeanor  so  unguarded 
and  irritating,  as  Sewall  records,  towards  men  of  rank 
and  influence  in  the  Province,  must  have  deeply  af- 
fected their  popularity ;  nor  can  it  be  doubted,  that 
they  were  among  the  causes,  not  only  of  the  father's 
exclusion  from  office,  but  also  of  that  comparative 
neglect  and  loss  of  influence,  which  were  the  fate  of 
both,  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  127 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Sectarian  Controversies. — Attempts  to  remove  John  Leverett  and 
Thomas  Brattle  from  the  Corporation  traced  to  them.  —  President 
Mather's  Epistle  Dedicatory  to  his  Son's  Life  of  Mitchell.  —  Its 
Effects.  — Foundation  of  Brattle  Street  Church.  —  Connexion  with 
it  of  Leverett  and  Brattle.  —  Conduct  of  the  Mathers  in  respect 
to  it. — Interference  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton.  —  Recon- 
ciliation of  the  Mathers  with  Colman.  —  Dedication  of  Brattle 
Street  Church.  —  The  Mathers  renew  the  Controversy.  —  Its  Spirit 
and  Consequences. 

THE  sectarian  controversies,  which  at  this  period   CHAPTER 

agitated  the  Province,  the  Corporation,  and  the  Col-  ! — 

lege,  were  among  the  causes  of  the  exclusion  of  In- 
crease  Mather,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years, 
led  to  the  introduction  of  John  Leverett  into  the 
presidency. 

Thomas  Brattle,  William  Brattle,  John  Leverett, 
Ebenezer  Pemberton,  and  Benjamin  Colman,  were  all 
graduates  of  the  College,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
Colman,  had  been  connected  with  its  government 
while  Increase  Mather  presided.  All  were  men  dis- 
tinguished for  zeal  in  the  cause  of  learning  and  re- 
ligion, and  highly  esteemed  by  their  contemporaries 
for  moral  worth  and  intellectual  attainments.  None 
of  them  were  adherents  to  the  rigid  doctrines  of  the 
early  established  Congregational  church  of  New  Eng- 
land, or  concealed  their  preference  of  those  milder 
and  more  liberal  views  of  the  Christian  dispensation, 
which,  after  the  charter  of  William  arid  Mary  had 


128  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   deprived  the  clergy  of  their  civil  power,  began  to  be 

! —  openly  avowed. 

During  the  absence  of  President  Mather  in  Europe, 
the  instruction  and  superintendence  of  the  College 
had  devolved  upon  John  Leverett  and  William  Brattle, 
as  tutors.  Both  continued  in  their  respective  offices 
after  his  return.  Both  were  made  members  of  the 
Corporation  by  the  College  charter,  passed  in  1692. 
When  this  charter  was  negatived  by  the  King,  both 
held  that  relation,  and  were  among  those,  who,  in  1696, 
were  reinstated  in  their  offices  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Stoughton.  It  does  not  appear,  that  during  this  period 
they  thwarted  any  of  the  views  of  the  President  rela- 

Courseof    tive  to  the  College.     On  the  contrary,  they  supported 

Leverett 

and  Brattle,  him  in  his  neglect  of  the  recommendation  of  the  legis- 
lature to  remove  to  Cambridge  in  1693,  and  joined  in 
requesting  him,  in  1696,  not  to  "resent"  their  re- 
newed recommendation  to  the  same  purport,  and  not 
to  resign  in  consequence  of  it.  They  did  not,  how- 
ever, concur  in  the  remonstrance  of  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation  against  the  bill  concerning 
the  College  in  1696,  and,  from  their  known  religious 
views,  could  not  be  relied  upon  to  support  the  project 
then  contemplated,  and  afterwards  openly  attempted, 
to  establish  an  absolute  control  of  the  College  in  the 
hands  of  the  adherents  to  the  early  ecclesiastical  doc- 
trines. This  contumacy  of  Leverett  probably  explains 
the  endeavour  made  to  exclude  him  from  the  Cor- 
poration, in  the  bill  introduced  into  the  General  Court 
in  1697  by  President  Mather  ;  who  was  of  a  tem- 
perament not  to  permit  his  animosities  to  be  con- 
cealed, or  their  causes  misapprehended.  From  their 
proceedings  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  both  the 
Mathers  had  determined  to  resist,  with  a  strong  hand, 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  129 


the  tendency  to  deviate  from  "  the  good  old  scriptural   CHAPTER 

ways,"  which,  as  they  thought,  was  countenanced  in  1 — 

the  College  and  the  community,  by  the  Brattles,  Lev- 
erett,  and  Pemberton ;  Colman  being  then  in  Europe. 
The  agreement  of  these  members  of  the  College  in 
religious  sentiment  was  a  subject  of  general  notoriety. 
In  1697,  Leverett  and  Pemberton  were  tutors,  Thomas 
Brattle  was  Treasurer  of  the  College,  and  William 
Brattle  had  just  exchanged  his  office  of  tutor  for  that  of 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Cambridge.  In  the  same  year 
Cotton  Mather  published  his  Life  of  Jonathan  Mitchell. 
Availing  himself  of  this  occasion,  President  Mather 
wrote  an  Epistle  Dedicatory  for  that  work,  addressed  President 

J  Mather's 

"  to  the  church  in  Cambridge,  and  to  the  students  in  ePistie 

0       ^  dedicatory. 

the  College  there."  In  this  Epistle  he  enumerates  the 
great  lights  Cambridge  and  the  College  had  formerly 
enjoyed ;  and  reminds  them  of  the  many  countries 
and  places,  which,  after  possessing  a  faithful  ministry, 
had  become,  through  "  young  profane  mockers,  and 
scornful  neuters,  overgrown  with  thorns  and  nettles, 
so  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  gradually  departed." 
"  Mercy  forbid,"  he  adds,  "  that  such  things  should 
be  verified  in  Cambridge."  The  publication  of  his 
son's  Life  of  Mitchell,  he  considers  "not  to  have  been 
without  the  providence  of  Christ,  at  such  a  time, 
when  there  are  agitations  about  some  disciplinary 
questions  among  yourselves." 

The  questions  agitated  at  that  time  chiefly  re- 
spected the  qualifications  and  examination  to  be  re- 
quired as  conditions  of  admission  to  the  ordinance 
of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  opinion  of  Mitchell,  that  "  doctrinal  knowl- 
edge and  outward  blamelessness  were  not  sufficient 

VOL.  i.  17 


130  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  for  such  admission,  but  that  practical  confessions,  or 
L_  some  relation  of  the  work  of  conversion,  were  neces- 
sary," President  Mather  applauds,  maintaining,  that 
"  to  admit  persons  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
without  any  examination  of  the  work  of  grace  in  the 
heart,  would  be  a  real  apostasy  and  degeneracy  from 
the  churches  of  New  England."  Taking  advantage 
of  the  fact,  that  Mitchell  had  been  once  "  a  tutor"  in 
the  College,  he  urges  upon  "  the  tutors  "  the  example 
of  Mitchell,  and,  "  praying  that  they  may  have  wisdom 
to  follow  it,"  warns  them  not  to  become  "  degenerate 
plants,  or  prove  themselves  apostate."  * 

The  time,  manner,  and  language  of  this  publica- 
tion could  not  but  have  been  deeply  offensive  to 
the  Brattles,  Leverett,  and  Pemberton.  Under  the 
mask  of  advice,  it  was  a  reproof  given  to  them  before 
the  students  of  the  College  and  the  world,  with  an 
evident  design,  in  connexion  with  their  known  opin- 
ions, to  load  them  with  the  reproach  of  degeneracy 
and  apostasy.  An  address  thus  personal  and  magis- 
terial naturally  strengthened  their  determination  to 
countenance,  or  to  unite  with,  that  sect  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  who  were  preparing  to  vindicate 
their  right  to  construe  the  Scriptures  for  themselves, 
and  no  longer  to  subscribe  to  the  infallibility  of  the 
authors  of  the  Cambridge  Platform.  Accordingly, 
that  very  year,  Thomas  Brattle  took  the  lead  in  form- 
ing an  association  of  enlightened  and  pious  Christians 
in  Boston,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  there  a  new 
Congregational  church,  constituted  on  principles  de- 
viating from  the  Platform,  and  expressly  rejecting 
"  the  imposition  of  any  public  relation  of  experi- 

*  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  ch.  4. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

ences,"  or  any  other  examination,  than  by  the  pastor,  CHAPTER 

as  the  condition  of  admission   to  the  Lord's  Supper.  vn' 
This  society,  in  January,  1698,  purchased  of  Thomas 
Brattle    a   lot   of  land,   in  Boston,  called  "  Brattle's 

close  "  ;  and  there  laid  the  foundation  of  that  church,  Foundation 

which  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Church  street 

T»  i        <n  11  .«.  church, 

in  Brattle  square.  1698. 

Soon  afterward  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Colman  was 
elected  their  pastor.  He  was  at  that  time  preaching 
in  England  under  the  authority  of  the  London  Pres- 
bytery ;  having  been  absent  from  America  more  than 
four  years.  Colman  accepted  the  invitation  ;  and,  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  associates,  he  obtained  an  ordi- 
nation in  London  from  the  Presbytery  of  that  city; 
his  friends  anticipating  the  difficulty  of  procuring  the 
ceremony  to  be  performed  in  Boston,  in  consequence 
of  the  prevailing  prejudices  against  the  new  church 
among  the  clergy  of  Massachusetts. 

The  records  of  the  church  sufficiently  indicate  the 
interest  taken  in  its  establishment  by  the  members 
of  the  Corporation  and  the  College,  who  have  been 
already  named.  Mr.  Colman,  by  whom  the  early 
records  were  written,  thus  states  in  them  the  motives, 
which  induced  him  to  accept  the  election  of  the 
associates. 

"  This  invitation  was  accepted  by  me,  and  the 
more  acceptable  it  was,  by  reason  of  the  kind  and 
encouraging  letters,  which  accompanied  it  from  my 
excellent  friends,  the  Hon.  John  Leverett,  the  Rev. 
William  Brattle,  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  Simon  Brad- 
street,  and  others." 

*  See  Records  of  Brattle  Street  Church.  Also  a  Sermon  preached 
to  the  Church  in  Brattle  Square,  July  18th,  1824,  by  the  Rev.  John  G. 
Palfrey;  and  the  Notes  annexed. 


132  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        The  connexion  of  Leverett  with  the  new  church, 


VII. 


and  the  open  encouragement  he  gave  it,  are  expressed 
aged°by       in  his  letter   to  Colman,  and   are  illustrative  of  the 
and  Brattle,  events  of  the  time,   and  of  the  subsequent  religious 
character  of  the   College,   in  forming  which   he  was 
destined  to  have  a  decisive  influence.* 

The  church  in  Brattle  Square  was  the  first-fruit  of 
that  religious  liberty,  which  the  charter  of  William  and 
Mary  introduced  into  Massachusetts.  The  associates 
were,  generally,  men  of  known  character  and  weight 
in  the  Province  ;  and  they  reckoned  in  their  number, 
and  among  their  friends,  individuals  distinguished  for 
learning,  private  worth,  exemplary  piety,  and  official 
station.  These  symptoms  of  revolt  from  the  rigor 
of  the  religious  dogmas,  which  had  been  transmitted 
in  the  systems  established  by  the  first  emigrants  to 
Massachusetts,  were  too  powerful  and  well .  sustained, 
not  to  excite  apprehensions  of  approaching  innova- 
tions among  all  the  stern  adherents  to  its  ancient 
ecclesiastical  constitution. 

As  in  theological,  not  less  than  in  other  controver- 
sies, men  are  apt  to  mistake  the  impulse  of  their  pas- 
sions, or  their  interests,  for  the  dictates  of  conscience, 
the  opponents  of  the  new  church  conducted  their 
attack,  in  the  first  instance,  neither  with  temper  nor 
policy.  The  character  of  this  opposition  is  probably 
attributable  chiefly  to  the  Mathers,  to  whom  contro- 
versy was  not  so  much  an  incident,  as  an  element  of 
their  natures.  The  chief  friends  and  founders  of  the 
new  church,  also,  stood  toward  both  of  them  in  re- 
lations, which  tended  to  make  their  opposition  assume 
a  personal  as  well  as  theological  character.  The  in- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XVIII. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  133 

terests  and  future  hopes  of  both  were  connected  with   CHAPTER 
the  event  of  the  present  controversy.  '. 

Increase  Mather,  as  the  head  of  the  clergy  of  the  Opposed  by 
Colony,  regarded  himself  and  was  regarded  by  others  and  cotton 
as  the  natural  defender  of  its  early  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution. He  had  put  his  popularity  with  the  pre- 
vailing sect  to  a  severe  trial  in  the  part  he  had 
taken  relative  to  the  new  Colonial  charter ;  and  he 
had  no  other  way  to  reestablish  himself  in  their  con- 
fidence, than  by  an  unwavering  maintenance  of  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  that  constitution.  All  his 
hopes  of  future  influence,  of  being  permitted  to  con- 
tinue head  of  the  College  and  yet  non-resident,  of 
success  in  his  earnest  desire  of  another  agency  in 
Great  Britain,  rested  on  the  same  foundation. 

His  temper  was  excited,  and  his  pride  wounded,  at 
finding  the  leaders  in  these  innovations  were  his  own 
pupils,  members  of  the  Corporation  of  which  he  was 
the  head,  who  were  indebted  to  him  for  their  station 
in  the  College,  and,  as  he  probably  imagined,  for  their 
influence  in  society.  Such  feelings  and  opinions  are 
clearly  discernible  in  his  controversial  writings  at  this 
period.  After  perceiving  that  the  solemn  reproof, 
which,  in  his  Epistle  Dedicatory  to  the  Life  of  Mit- 
chell, under  the  form  of  admonition,  he  administered 
to  the  contumacious  "  youths,"  had  the  effect  to  excite 
and  stimulate,  rather  than  to  reform  them,  he  seems 
to  have  lost  all  patience  and  self-possession. 

Mr.  Colman  arrived  in  Boston  on  the  1st  of  No- 
vember, 1699,  and,  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month 
the  new  church  issued  a  "  manifesto  or  declaration  of 
their  aims,  designs,  principles,  and  rules,  to  prevent 
apprehensions  and  jealousies."  This  publication  gave 


134  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   to  that  Society  the  name  of  "  the  Manifesto  Church," 

VII 

'. —  by   way  of  opprobrium ;    a   designation  by  which  it 

was  distinguished  during  the  succeeding  half  century. 
The  opportunity,  which  this  exposition  of  princi- 
ples opened  for  a  theological  combat,  was  too  tempting 
for  the  Mathers.  Both  prepared  to  enter  the  lists 
against  so  dangerous  an  "  apostasy." 

The  account,  which  Cotton  Mather  gives  of  his  feel- 
ings and  proceedings  on  the  occasion,  is  curious  and 
characteristic.  He  calls  the  leaders  of  that  church 
"  headstrong  men,"  "  full  of  malignity  towards  the  holy 
ways  of  the  churches,"  who  had  published  a  manifesto 
"  utterly  subverting  them  and  tending  to  throw  all  into 
confusion."  "  The  ministers,"  he  adds,  "  who  are 
faithful  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  are  driven  to  a  necessity 
of  appearing  in  defence  of  the  churches ;  no  little 
part  of  which  falls  unavoidably  to  my  share ;  I  have 
already  written  a  large  monitory  letter,  lovingly  penned, 
which  yet  enrages  their  lusts  to  carry  on  the  apos- 
tasy." * 

Lieutenant-       The  Mathers,  however,   began  soon  to  be  aware, 
stoughton    that  some  of  the  pillars  of  the  early  churches  of  the 

interferes.  . 

Province,  were  not  prepared  to  give  support  to  their 
violent  and  fulminatory  measures.  The  politicians, 
who,  in  all  governments,  in  which  there  is  an  inter- 
texture  of  church  and  state,  are  always  careful  to 
guide  practically  the  divines,  readily  anticipated,  that 
persecution  would  strengthen  rather  than  weaken  the 
foundations  of  the  new  church.  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  Stoughton  and  Chief  Justice  Sewall  accord- 
ingly united  with  Willard,  Clark,  and  Danforth,  all 
clergymen  of  distinction,  to  still  the  waves  of  theo- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  135 

logical  controversy  ;   and  their  labors  were  so  efficient,  CHAPTER 

that   both   the   Mathers   were    compelled  to  smother  _  !  _ 
their  resentments,  and  to  take  part  in  the  religious 
services  at  the  dedication  of  the  new  church.     Presi- 


tion  of  the 

dent   Mather   even    preached   on   the  occasion,    from  Mathers 

1  andCol- 

Heb.  xii.  14,  "  Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holi-  inan 
ness  ;  "  and  thence  deduced  the  doctrine,  that  peace 
must  be  followed  "  so  far  as  consists  with  holiness"  a 
reservation   which  opened  ample    scope    and  apology 
for  the  future  attacks  he  meditated  on  the  new  society. 

The  account  given  by  Cotton  Mather  in  his  Diary, 
of  the  manner  and  agents  by  which  this  reconciliation 
was  effected,  is  singularly  illustrative  of  his  disposition 
to  wrest  every  occurrence  into  a  subject  of  eulogy 
on  himself  or  his  father. 

In    this  document  he   states  without  reserve,   that  Cotton 
"  the  attempt  to  bring  the  people  of  the  new  church  account  of 

•     •  I'll.  i  thatrecon- 

to  reason,  '  originated  with  him  ;  that  he  "  drew  up  dilation. 
the  conciliatory  proposal  "  ;  that  he,  with  another  min- 
ister, carried  it  to  them  ;  that  they  embraced  it,  and 
that  the  result  filled  "  all  hearts  with  joy,  and  caused 
much  relenting  in  some  of  their  spirits,  when  they 
saw  our  condescension,  our  charity,  our  compassion." 
"  Overlooking  all  offences,"  he  adds,  "  we  kept  the 
public  fast  with  them.  My  father  preached,  and  I 
concluded  with  prayer."* 

Contemporaneous  documents,  however,  compel  the 
belief,  that  the  glory  of  effecting  the  reconciliation, 
thus  obtrusively  claimed  by  Cotton  Mather,  was  wholly 
without  foundation  ;  that  he  neither  drew  up  the  paper, 
uor  had  any  material  efficiency  in  producing  it.  In 
this,  as  in  many  instances  in  his  voluminous  writings, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 


136  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  the  conviction  is  forced  upon  the  mind,  that  he  was 

VII 

-  -  —  not  quite  so  scrupulous  as  might  be  wished,  in  his 
relation  of  facts,  particularly  in  cases  where  his  own 
or  his  -father's  reputation  was  likely  to  be  affected. 

The  records  of  the  church  in  Brattle  Square  still 
exist,  in  the  handwriting  of  its  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Colman,  who  thus  notices  the  difficulties  which  the 
church  had  to  encounter,  and  those  who  had  been  the 
chief  authors  of  its  relief. 

"  I  omit,  on  purpose,  the  differences  and  troubles 
we  had  with  any  neighbours  about  our  proceedings. 
I  only  am  obliged  to  leave  this  acknowledgment  of 
our  great  obligations  to  the  Hon.  William  Stoughton, 
Esquire,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Province,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  William  Brattle,  of  Cambridge,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Clark,  of  Chelmsford,  and  Mr.  Danforth  of  Dor- 
chester, for  their  good  and  kind  endeavours  for  our 
peaceable  settlement." 

Now,  if  the  exertions  of  the  Mathers  for  this  recon- 
ciliation, had  been  so  exceedingly  conspicuous  and 
the  occasion  of  such  "  wonderful  joy  and  relentings," 
as  Cotton  Mather's  Diary  asserts,  Colman,  in  his 
recapitulation  of  the  authors  of  such  a  blessing  to  his 
church,  obviously  flowing  from  the  fulness  of  a  grate- 
ful heart,  would  certainly  not  have  omitted  to  name 
the  Mathers. 

There  exists  evidence,  however,  on  this  point,  more 


therecon-    direct   and  conclusive.     Judge  Sewall,    who   had   no 

ciliation.  .  .  .  . 

motive  to  induce  unfairness  or  interpolation,  also  kept 
a  Diary,  to  which  we  have  already  had  frequent  occa- 
sion to  refer,  and  in  it  he  enumerates  the  agents  chiefly 
instrumental  in  effecting  the  reconciliation.*  Sewall's 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  137 

Diary  is  precisely  what  such  a  record  ought  to  be,  a  CHAPTER 
simple     account     of    events,    without    any   laudatory 
illustration,  or  specious  supposition  of  motives.     His 
statement   is    apparently  irreconcilable    with   that  of 
Cotton  Mather. 

From  Sewall's  Journal  it  appears,  that  this  recon- 
ciliation, instead  of  being  effected  by  "a  proposal 
drawn  up  "  by  Cotton  Mather  on  the  21  st  of  January, 
and  originating  with  him,  as  his  Diary  asserts,  was,  in 
truth,  effected  by  "a  paper  drawn  up  by  William 
Brattle  on  the  24th  of  January "  ;  that,  so  far  from 
writing  the  paper,  it  does  not  appear  that  Cotton 
Mather  was  even  present,  or  consulted,  when  it  was 
prepared ;  that  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton  was 
the  prime  mover  and  leading  agent  in  the  affair,  as 
Colman  states  in  his  Records ;  and  that,  when  the 
Mathers  were  called  to  the  conference,  on  the  25th 
of  January,  "  there  was  some  heat,"  but  that  after- 
wards an  agreement  took  place.  In  whom  this  heat 
appeared  Sewall  does  not  state.  From  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  theological  zeal  of  the  Mathers,  which 
was  always  at  the  boiling  point,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  to  whom  the  "  heat"  is  to  be  attributed.  The 
account  given  by  Sewall  is  natural ;  such  as  might 
rationally  be  expected  in  such  a  state  of  things.  The 
account  by  Cotton  Mather,  considering  the  vehemence 
of  his  passions,  and  his  and  his  father's  violent  ani- 
mosity to  the  new  church  and  its  founders,  which  cir- 
cumstances soon  after  developed,  is  altogether  out  of 
nature  and  incredible. 

The  immediate  consequence  of  this  reconciliation  of 
the  church  in  Brattle  Square  with  the  other  churches 
of  the  Province  is  stated  in  the  Records  of  the  former, 

VOL.  i.  18 


138  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   and  particularly  in  a  very  full  and  satisfactory  man- 
— - —  ner,  in  Sewall's  Diary.  * 

It  might  reasonably  have  been  expected,  after  a 
reconciliation  so  happily  effected,  which,  if  Cotton 
Mather's  Diary  were  to  be  credited,  he  had  labo- 
riously sought,  and  in  which  he  heartily  rejoiced, 
that  both  he  and  his  father  would  have  been  willing 
to  permit  the  churches  to  remain  at  peace.  At  least, 
that,  after  such  pathetic  prayers  for  Colman  and  his 
flock,  they  would  have  waited  for  some  experience  of 
the  ill  consequences  of  their  "  apostasy,"  before  they 
stirred  the  embers  of  contention,  which  such  pains 
had  been  taken  to  quench.  They  were,  however,  of 
a  different  opinion.  They  had  prepared  "  an  antidote 
against  the  infection  of  the  churches,  by  the  example 
of  the  new  church."  "  They  had  actually  put  it  to 
the  press."  "  This  they  had  stopped,  in  order  to 
bring  this  people  to  reason."  This  having  been  done, 
and  the  reconciliation  attained,  both  probably  per- 
suaded themselves,  that  it  was  a  great  pity,  "  an  an- 
tidote "  thus  laboriously  composed,  and  "  so  lovingly 
penned,"  f  should  be  lost  to  the  world,  particularly,  as 
it  is  not  unlikely  they  had  persuaded  themselves,  ac- 
cording to  the  doctrine  of  President  Mather's  sermon, 
that,  "  to  follow  peace  with  these  men  was  not  con- 
sistent with  holiness. "f 

President         Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1700,  President 

Mather  re-  •    r        j  , 

news  the     Mather  commenced   an  attack  upon  the  new  church, 

contro- 
versy,        its  friends,  and  founders,  in  a  general  treatise,  entitled 

"  The  Order  of  the  Gospel  professed  by  the  Churches 
of  Christ  jn  New  England  Justified,"  &c.  The  style 
of  this  publication  is  sufficiently  indicative  of  a  spirit 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 

J  See  above,  p.  135. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  139 

willing    no    peace,    except  through   victory   and  sub-   CHAPTER 

mission.     In  the  progress  of  the  controversy,   which 

this  work  induced,  President  Mather  was  led  to  the 
exhibition  of  great  violence  and  personality ;  partly 
through  the  excitement  of  his  own  feelings  ;  partly 
through  sympathy  with  the  characteristic  support  given 
to  him  by  his  son,  in  a  pamphlet  abounding  in  reck- 
less, virulent  invective. 

"  The  Order  of  the  Gospel  "  was  a  batterv  erected,  President 

J  '    Mather's 

apparently,  against  the  new  church  in  Brattle  Square  "Order of 

rr  J  7  the  Gos- 

and  its  founders.  It  was,  however,  so  placed  and  Pel-" 
played,  as  to  bring  the  College,  its  tutors,  and  the 
innovating  members  of  the  Corporation,  within  the 
range  of  its  missiles.  This  position  and  action, 
alone,  connect  that  treatise,  and  the  controversy 
it  produced,  with  the  history  of  this  seminary.  In 
his  Epistle  Dedicatory  to  the  work,  the  President 
takes  care  to  lament  "  the  decay  of  the  power  of 
religion  throughout  all  New  England,"  and  to  inti- 
mate, as  one  of  the  causes,  "  universal  toleration  and 
the  corruption  of  the  schools."  "  In  these,"  he  says, 
"  declension  has  not  gone  so  far  but  that  it  may  be 
stopped,"  and  he  calls  upon  the  churches,  therefore, 
"  to  pray  for  the  College,"  "  particularly  that  God 
may  ever  bless  that  society  with  faithful  tutors,  that 
will  be  true  to  Christ's  interests  and  theirs,  and  not 
hanker  after  new  and  loose  ways." 

Facts,  notorious  at  the  time,  and  apparent  in  the  rec- 
ords of  the  period,  gave  a  certain  personal  direction  and 
sharpness  to  these  shafts,  which,  at  first  view,  appear 
to  be  thrown  into  the  air,  without  special  aim,  and 
solely  for  general  effect.  That  they  were  felt,  and 
their  intended  direction  perceived,  is  sufficiently  appar- 
ent from  the  answer,  which,  in  the  course  of  the  same 


140  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAITER   year  (1700)  appeared  to  President  Mather's  "Order 
—  —  —  of  the  Gospel,"  under  the   title  of   "  Gospel  Order 


Revived  "  ;  and  published  by  "  sundry  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  in  New  England."  The  authors  of  this 
reply  turn  upon  the  President  the  same  weapons  of 
personality  and  insinuation,  masked  in  like  manner 
under  generality  of  remark.  They  indicate  very  plain- 
ly the  opinions  of  the  time  in  relation  to  his  public 
course  and  writings,  and  an  intention  to  make  him 
feel,  if  they  could  not  make  him  desist. 

"  They  will  not  guess  the  reverend  author's  secret 
aim,  or  whom,  in  particular,  he  raises  his  batteries 
against."  "  They  charitably  hope  he  has  no  private 
interest  to  bribe  him  in  this  affair."  "  It  is  well 
known  how  liberal  some  men  are  of  the  odious  brand 
of  apostates,  for  every  one  who  cannot  digest  the  late 
published  '  Orders.'  '  They  repel,  as  "  a  groundless 
calumny,  his  suggestion,  that  the  latitude  they  contend 
for  is  a  betraying  of  the  liberties  and  privileges  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  given  to  his  church  ;  "  and 
intimate  very  distinctly,  that,  "  through  the  power 
of  interest,  faction,  passion,  and  personal  opposition, 
he  had  become  so  blinded,  on  a  sudden,  as  to  fight 
with  truths,  which  he  had  learned  and  reverenced 
from  his  infancy."  * 

President  Mather,  in  his  "  Order  of  the  Gospel," 
having  aimed  one  piece  of  masked  artillery  at  the 
pastor  of  the  new  church,  who  had  been  ordained  in 
London,  f  by  saying,  "  that  pastor  and  flock  are  re- 
lates, and  therefore  one  cannot  be  without  the  other," 
and  "  that  to  say  a  wandering  Levite,  who  has  no 

*  Gospel  Order  Revived,  printed  in  1700,   page  16.  f  Page  101. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  141 

ilock,  is  a  pastor,  is  as  good  sense,  as  to  say,  that  he   CHAPTER 

that  has  no  children  is  a  father,  and  that  the  man  who — 

has  no  wife  is  a  husband;"  the  authors  of  the  "  Or- 
der of  the  Gospel  Revived  "  turn  the  battery  with 
dexterity  upon  the  President  himself,  by  showing  that 
he  was  of  opinion,  and  had  justified  by  his  own  writ- 
ings and  practice,  "  that,  though  there  be  a  relation  to 
a  particular  flock,  yet  a  minister  is  so  authorized  by 
Jesus  Christ,  that  he  is  capable,  in  his  name,  to  per- 
form ministerial  acts  in  other  places  and  upon  all 
occasions ; "  adding,  "  and  were  not  the  President 
sincerely  of  this  opinion,  we  cannot  but  think  he 
would  highly  condemn  any  minister  that  should  be 
absent  from  his  flock  four  years  together,  upon  any 
service  whatsoever.  Sure,  if  he  be  no  way  capable 
to  act  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  is  all  that 
while  a  stray  bird,  idly  wandering  from  his  nest." 

This  answer  of  the  ministers  excited  both  the  indignation 
Mathers  to  such  a  height  of  indignation,  that  they  Mathers. 
seem  to  have  lost  all  sense  of  prudence  and  character. 
A  pamphlet  immediately  appeared  (1701),  entitled 
"  A  Collection  of  some  of  the  many  offensive  Matters 
contained  in  a  Pamphlet,  entitled  '  The  Order  of  the 
Gospel  Revived ' ; "  not  indeed  having  the  name  of 
Cotton  Mather,  but  universally  attributed  to  him, 
never  denied,  and  bearing  unquestionable  marks  of 
the  style  and  temper,  which  characterize  his  contro- 
versial writings.  To  leave  no  question,  however,  con- 
cerning its  author,  it  came  attended  with  an  address 
"  to  the  reader,"  under  the  sign-manual  of  Increase 
Mather  himself,  dated  December  31st,  1700. 

In  this  pamphlet  no  term  of  vituperation,  expressive 
of  anger  and  contempt,  seems  omitted.  The  work 
of  these  "  ministers  "  is  characterized  as  "  a  volume 


vir. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  of  invectives  against  the  *  Order  of  the  Gospel,'"  and 
its  author  "  highly  scandalous  and  scurrilous " ;  as 
violating  the  third  commandment  by  "  profane  scoffs, 
and  flouts,  and  jeers,  at  the  churches  of  the  Lord,  and 
some  of  their  very  solemn  and  sacred  services ;  "  as 
tending  by  its  example  "  to  bring  in  profaneness  and 
atheism ;  "  calling  them  "  bold  youths,  who  violate  the 
fifth  commandment,  without  the  least  spark  of  shame 
in  them,  to  cry  shame  of  their  rude  and  vile  threats 
given  by  them  unto  the  aged  President  of  the  Col- 
lege," and  reiterating  charges  of  "  impudence," 
"  rudeness,"  "  gross  falsehoods,"  "  injustice,"  "  craft," 
"  malicious  flings,"  "  deep  apostasy,"  and  "  profane 
scurrility."  This  tirade  of  opprobrious  epithets,  un- 
surpassed for  its  violence  and  bitterness,  is  concen- 
trated in  a  pamphlet  of  only  sixteen  pages. 

President  Mather,  by  prefixing  to  this  pamphlet  an 
Epistle  to  the  Reader,  not  only  adopts  it  as  his  own, 
by  introducing  it  with  words  of  approbation,  but  fol- 
lows out  the  vituperative  spirit  of  his  son  with  like 
asperities. 

The  obnoxious  pamphlet,  he  says,  instead  of  being 
called  "  The  Order  of  the  Gospel  Revived,"  might 
more  properly  be  denominated  "  The  Order  of  the 
Gospel  Reviled  "  ;  and,  instead  of  having  been  pub- 
lished by  "  sundry  ministers  of  the  Gospel,"  was  done, 
some  say,  "  by  sundry  underminers  of  the  Gospel." 
Taking  it  for  granted,  contrary  to  fact,  that  Mr.  Col- 
man  was  its  author,  he  speaks  of  him  as  "a  little 
thing,"  "  not  worth  while  to  notice,"  as  "  a  youth, 
who  had  not  feared  to  mock  his  fathers,"  using  "  rude, 
unmannerly,  and  unmanly  expressions,"  "  a  scandalous 
scoffer,"  "  a  raw,  unstudied  youth,  of  a  very  unsanc- 
tified  temper  and  spirit ;  his  arguments  nothing  but 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  143 

scoffs  and  foolish  jeers,  without  so  much  as  one  solid   CHAPTER 

reason  throughout  his  whole  discourse."     In  the  whole 

scope  of  theological  and  political  controversy,  there  is 
scarcely  an  example  extant,  of  more  select,  concen- 
trated, and  unmixed  personal  abuse,  than  is  exhibited 
in  this  pamphlet  and  its  preface. 

It  is  melancholy,  as  well  as  humiliating,  to  trace 
such  evidences  of  an  ill-governed  and  overbearing 
spirit,  especially  in  one,  who,  on  many  accounts,  is 
worthy  of  esteem  arid  approbation ;  but  the  truth  of 
history  requires,  that  such  unquestionable  characteris- 
tics of  mind  and  manners,  as  this  controversy  presents, 
should  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  The  vices,  weak- 
nesses, and  passions,  of  those  men,  whose  character 
and  conduct,  through  the  circumstances  of  particular 
times,  and  their  connexion  with  them,  have  shaped 
the  destinies  of  a  city,  state,  or  party,  when  apparent 
on  the  records  of  the  period,  belong  to  its  history, 
and  are  inseparable  from  any  just  developement  of 
it.  Their  nature  constitutes  an  essential  element 
of  the  judgment  of  after  times,  not  only  on  former 
events,  but  also  on  the  proportion  of  merit,  or  de- 
merit, in  the  men  who  have  influenced  those  events. 
The  criminations  and  reproaches  of  rival  interests 
and  parties  should  be  received  at  their  worth, 
after  exact  analysis,  and  not  according  to  their  cur- 
rency when  first  issued  ;  but  those  features  of  char- 
acter, which  the  writings  of  active  men  themselves 
display,  are,  of  all  documents  explaining  their  minds 
and  motives,  the  most  unquestionable  and  satisfactory ; 
and  also  of  the  minds  and  motives  of  those,  whom 
such  men  have  led  or  influenced. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  realize  what  an  effect  a  pub- 
lication of  this  temper  must  have  had  on  the  reputation 


144 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   and   influence  of   both   the  Mathers.     Its  connexion 

! —  with  the  events  already  related  cannot  be  mistaken. 

their5 ian-     It  was  written  in  December,  1700,  and  issued  to  the 

guage  and  ,  ,  r      t 

conduct  on  world  at  the  commencement  01  the  year  ensuing ;  at 
the  very  time  when  the  legislature  of  the  Province 
were  insisting,  and  President  Mather  at  first  reluct- 
antly yielding,  and  immediately  after  absolutely  re- 
fusing, to  take  up  his  residence  at  Cambridge.  It 
cannot  be  doubted,  that  such  a  display  of  mind  and 
passions  must  have  greatly  weakened  his  influence  in 
that  body,  disgusting  some  and  provoking  others. 
The  part  he  took  in  this  controversy  is  one  of  the 
causes  which  enable  us  satisfactorily  to  account  for  the 
obvious  determination,  evinced  by  a  great  and  ulti- 
mately a  successful  party  in  the  legislature,  no  longer 
to  permit  the  continuance  of  the  relation  he  had  so 
long  held  to  the  College,  or  to  gratify  him  in  his 
earnest  desire  after  another  agency  in  Great  Britain. 
His  enemies,  probably,  were  well  aware  of  the  fact, 
which  his  son  so  distinctly  asserts,  that  "  President 
Mather  would  not  remove  his  habitation  from  Bos- 
ton ;  "  and  availed  themselves  of  this  knowledge,  to 
insist  upon  his  removal,  and  negative  his  nomination 
on  that  account,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  a  presidency, 
from  which  they  could  reasonably  anticipate  nothing 
but  violent  personal  quarrels  and  religious  contro- 
versies. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  145 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  "Willard  accepts  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  College. 

—  His  Character  and  that  of  Increase  Mather  compared.  — Motives 
for  Willard's   Appointment.  —  Governor  Dudley's  Arrival.  —  His 
Message  concerning  the  College.  —  Willard's  Differences  with  Ma- 
ther.—  The  Brattles  reinstated  in  the  Corporation.  —  The  Mathers 
court  Dudley.  —  Final  Attempt  to  obtain  a  Charter  from  the  Crown. 

—  Its  Failure.  —  Death  of  Vice-President  Willard.  —  Election  of 
John  Leverett.  —  Conduct  of  a  Part  of  the  Clergy  on  the  Occasion. 

—  Act  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  reviving  the  ancient  Char- 
ter of  the  College,  approved  by  Dudley.  —  Responsibility  of  the 
Act.  —  Its  happy  Consequences. 

THE  exclusion  of  Increase  Mather  from  the  presi-   CHAPTER 

VIII. 

dency,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wil — 

lard  to  the  superintendence  of  the  College,  occurred  dencypof81 

Samuel 

on  the  same  day ;  and  were  the  result  of  the  votes 
which  passed  in  the  legislature  on  the  6th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1701.  Mr.  Willard  held  the  station  of  Vice- 
President  more  than  six  years,  and  until  his  death. 
His  duties  were  not  less  arduous  than  those  of  his  pre- 
decessors, and  his  fulfilment  of  them  was  equally  punc- 
tual, laborious,  and  successful.  Under  the  influence 
of  that  modesty,  which  was  a  predominant  feature 
of  his  character,  he  was  content  with  this  compara- 
tively inferior  title.  Our  historians  have  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  account  satisfactorily  for  this  anomaly  in  the 
title  of  the  executive  of  the  College. 

Peirce,  with  his  characteristic  sagacity,   intimates, 
that  it  might  have  been  an  "  evasion."  *     Such  it  un- 


*  See  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.,  pp.  73,  78. 
VOL.    I.  19 


146  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  questionably  was  ;  and  resulted  from  the  position  in 
'  which  the  legislature  found  themselves  placed,  be- 
tween the  vote  they  had  passed,  that  "  the  President 
should  reside  at  Cambridge,"  and  the  determination 
of  a  majority  to  rid  themselves  of  President  Mather. 
That  vote  they  were  not  willing  to  rescind  in  favor  of 
Willard,  after  having  for  a  series  of  years  pertinaciously 
insisted  upon  it  in  relation  to  Mather.  But,  Willard 
being  as  unwilling  as  Mather  to  accept  the  office  on 
condition  of  residence,  and  as  they  could  not  agree 
on  a  third  person,  they  resorted  to  the  subterfuge  of 
continuing  Willard  in  the  office  he  then  held  of  Vice- 
President,  and  vesting  him  with  the  power  and  duties 
of  President.  Thus,  without  rescinding  their  former 
vote,  or  any  apparent  inconsistency,  they  permitted 
Willard,  during  his  life,  to  occupy  at  the  same  time 
the  office  of  superintendent  of  the  College  and  that 
of  pastor  of  a  church  in  Boston ;  and  to  perform  the 
duties  of  President  under  the  title  of  Vice-President, 
by  occasional  visits,  without  actual  residence  at  Cam- 
bridge. These  were  precisely  the  relations  Mather 
was  desirous,  and  had  offered,  to  sustain  ;  *  and,  on 
account,  apparently,  of  their  incompatibility,  he  had 
been  excluded  from  office. 

Many  circumstances  united  to  render  Willard,  in  the 
state  of  the  religious  and  political  parties  of  the  time, 
far  more  generally  acceptable  than  Mather.  Both 
possessed  the  confidence  of  the  prevailing  Calvin- 
istic  sect ;  for  they  were  equally  learned  and  sound 
in  the  articles  of  faith  by  that  sect  deemed  fun- 
damental. But  their  writings  and  demeanor  exhibited 
a  remarkable  contrast.  Willard  was  quiet,  retiring, 

*  See  above,  p.  118. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  147 

phlegmatic,  and  unpretending  ;  Mather,   restless,  ob-   CHAPTER 

trusive,  excitable,  boastful  of  his  public  services,  and  '. — 

complaining  of  neglect  and  ingratitude.* 

The  life  of  the  former  had  been  devoted  to  pro- 
fessional research  and  pastoral  duties.  His  study  was 
the  scene  of  his  private  labors ;  his  church  the  theatre 
of  his  public  action.  These  had  constituted  a  sphere 
of  usefulness,  to  which  his  ambition  had  been  limited  ; 
which  he  did  not  quit  until  after  repeated  legislative 
applications,  for  one  higher  and  wider,  and  then  with 
reluctance. 

The  life  of  the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  had  been  one 
series  of  theological  and  political  controversy.  He  was 
a  partisan  by  profession  ;  always  harnessed,  and  ready, 
and  restless  for  the  onset ;  now  courting  the  states- 
men ;  now  mingling  with  the  multitude ;  exciting 
the  clergy  in  the  synod,  and  the  congregation  in  the 
pulpit,  and  the  people  in  the  halls  of  popular  assembly. 

Amid  the  agitations  consequent  on  that  insanity  of 
the  age,  denominated  "  the  Salem  witchcraft,"  the 
conduct  of  Willard  was  marked  by  prudence,  firmness, 
and  courage.  He  neither  yielded  to  the  current,  nor 
feared  to  cast  the  weight  of  his  opinion  publicly  in 
opposition  to  the  prevailing  delusion  ;  f  an  independ- 
ence the  more  remarkable  and  honorable,  as  Stoughton 
and  Sewall,  two  of  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  trial, 
men  of  great  influence  in  the  Province,  both  his  per- 
sonal friends,  and  the  latter  a  principal  member  of  his 

*  See  his  "  Address  to  the  Reader,"  on  his  publication  of  two  ser- 
mons in  1702,  entitled  "  The  Righteous  Man  a  Blessing." 

"  This  is  the  last  sermon  I  will  preach  at  the  lecture  in  Boston  ;  the 
ill  treatment  I  have  received  from  those,  from  whom  I  had  reason  to 
expect  better,  have  discouraged  me  from  being  any  more  concerned 
in  such  vocation." 

t  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  V.  p.  76. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  church,  were  deeply  infected  by  the  distemper  of  the 
1_  times.  His  tongue  and  his  pen  were,  notwithstand- 
ing, employed  to  bring  back  peace  and  reason  to  his 
country.*  Increase  Mather,  on  the  contrary,  although 
he  had  cooperated  in  that  excitement  with  far  less  zeal 
than  his  son  Cotton,  and  his  course  had  been  more 
prudent,  yet  shared,  in  the  event,  a  full  proportion  of 
that  odium,  which  attached  ultimately  to  all  the  clergy 
and  politicians,  who  had  countenanced  the  infatua- 
tion. 

After  it  had  subsided,  the  circumspection  and  bold- 
ness of  Willard,  in  that  trying  season,  was  remem- 
bered and  honored,  and  he  derived  thence  a  weight 
of  popularity,  which  President  Mather  had  lost  by  his 
conduct  during  the  excitement.  The  resulting  general 
impressions  concerning  the  character  of  each  were, 
undoubtedly,  among  the  causes  of  that  preference, 
which  the  exclusion  of  Mather  and  the  appointment 
of  Willard  by  the  legislature  indicate. 

The  family  connexion,  which  subsisted  between 
Mr.  Willard  and  Joseph  Dudley,  who  became,  the 
very  next  year,  by  royal  appointment,  Governor  of  the 
Province,  might  also  have  had  some  effect,  in  fixing 
attention  thus  strongly  on  Mr.  Willard.  They  had 
married  sisters,  the  daughters  of  Edward  Tyng,f  one 
of  the  earliest,  wealthiest,  and  most  influential  fa- 
milies in  the  Colony.  The  appointment  of  Dudley 
was  anticipated ;  and  the  friends  of  the  College  could 

i 

*  His  course  was  so  bold  and  unhesitating,  that  he  became  exposed 
to  the  malignity  of  the  "  afflicted,"  and  was  actually  "  cried  out  upon  " 
by  one  of  them,  at  a  period  of  the  excitement,  when  "  to  be  cried  out 
upon  by  the  afflicted  "  was  regarded  as  sufficient  evidence  to  justify 
imprisonment  for  witchcraft,  if  not  conviction  of  it.  See  Hutch.  Hist. 
Vol.  II.  ch.  I.  p.  56. 

t  Mass.   Hist.   Soc.   Coll.,   First   Series,  Vol.  X.  p.  181. 


Family 
connexion 
between 
Dudley  and 
Willard. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  149 

not  deem  it  indifferent  to  its  interest  with  the  new   CHAPTER 

VIII 

Governor,    whether    he    should   find    the    President's  '• — 

chair  filled  by  Mather,  an  active  leader  of  that  political 
and  religious  party,  which  had  imprisoned  him  and 
Andros,  with  whom  his  name  and  character  had  been 
an  unvaried  theme  of  abuse,  or  by  Willard,  a  brother- 
in-law,  who  enjoyed  at  once  his  private  confidence 
and  personal  respect. 

Accordingly,  Dudley,  on  his  arrival,  took  an  early  Governor 
opportunity  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  College  before  message 

0  concerning 

the  legislature.  In  his  message  of  the  llth  of  March,  theCoi- 
1703,  at  the  opening  of  the  General  Court,  he  thus  intro-  17  03 . 
duced  the  subject.*  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  often  solicited 
and  spoken  to,  referring  to  the  College  at  Cambridge. 
I  am  sorry  for  the  mistake  of  this  government,  at  any 
time,  in  that  affair.  If  there  be  any  thing  that  imports 
me,  referring  to  that  affair,  when  it  shall  be  communi- 
cated, I  shall  very  freely  do  my  duty,  to  lay  it  before 
her  Majesty."  This  part  of  the  Governor's  message 
excited  some  feeling,  and,  on  the  9th  of  March,  a 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  f  "  waited 
on  him  with  a  message,  praying  him  to  inform  the 
House  of  the  mistakes  committed  by  the  government 
in  the  affair  of  the  College,  intimated  in  his  Excel- 
lency's speech,  and  to  desire  to  know  what  he  would 
please  to  direct  in  that  affair." 

"  His  Excellency  acquainted  them,  that  the  mis- 
takes he  referred  to  were,  a  first,  second,  and  third 
draft  of  a  charter  of  incorporation  for  the  College, 
sent  to  England,  and  there  refused."  t 

The  records  of  the  legislature  indicate  no  further 
general  proceedings  in  it,  concerning  the  College, 

*  See  Records  of  the  General  Court.          f  Ibid.  J  Ibid. 


150  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  during  this  and  the  two  ensuing  years.  But  existing 
'  contemporaneous  documents  sufficiently  evidence,  that, 
in  these  years,  the  influences  controlling  it  were  un- 
dergoing changes,  and  that  the  government  of  it  still 
continued  to  be  an  object  of  the  ambition  of  both  the 
Mathers. 

As  early  as  1697,  Willard  and  Increase  Mather  had 
adopted  different,  probably  irreconcilable,  views  rela- 
tive to  the  individuals,  who  ought  to  be  introduced 
into  the  Corporation.  The  attempt  made  in  that  year 
to  exclude  Leverett  from  the  board  has  been  already 
stated.  * 

It  appears,  by  Sewall's  Journal,  that  in  November, 
1697,  .there  was  "a  falling  out"  between  President 
Mather  and  Mr.  Willard,  relative  to  the  choosing  of 
fellows,  f  This  fact,  with  others  of  a  general  charac- 
ter, sufficiently  show,  that  the  views  of  Willard, 
in  respect  to  the  auspices  under  which  the  College 
was  to  be  placed,  were  not  consentaneous  with  those 
The  Brat-  of  tne  Mathers ;  and  now,  when  the  influence  of  his 
stotecTin  brother-in-law  was  paramount,  Thomas  Brattle  and 
mion0rp°"  William  Brattle  were  reinstated  Fellows  of  the  Cor- 
poration,  both  of  whom  had  been  excluded  during  the 
ascendency  of  President  Mather.  At  the  same  time 
Josiah  Willard,  son  of  the  Vice-President,  was  chosen 
a  tutor.  The  records  of  the  Corporation  do  not  in- 
dicate under  what  circumstances,  or  to  fill  what  vacan- 
cies, the  Brattles  were  elected. 

The  Diary  of  Judge  Sewall  thus  supplies  the  de- 
ficiency. "  1703.  August  10th.  This  day  is  a 
Corporation  meeting  at  Cambridge.  Choose  Mr. 
Thomas  and  Mr.  William  Brattle  into  the  Corpora- 

*  See  above,  p.  87.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XL 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  151 

tion,  instead  of  Mr.  Allen  and  Mr.  Walter,  who  have   CHAPTER 
abdicated,  as  they  reckon."  ! 

By  comparing  the  names  of  the  seventeen  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation,  chosen  by  virtue  of  the  act 
which  passed  9th  of  July,  1700,*  with  those,  who, 
as  the  records  show,  attended  its  meetings  during 
the  Vice-Presidency  of  Willard,  it  is  apparent,  that 
Mr.  Walter  and  Cotton  Mather  were  the  two,  who 
were  thus  construed  to  have  "  abdicated."  Nei- 
ther of  them  attended  any  meeting  of  the  Corpora- 
tion after  the  exclusion  of  President  Mather.  But 
the  name  of  Allen  appears  occasionally  among  those 
present  at  the  board,  quite  down  to  the  change  intro- 
duced by  the  revival  of  the  first  charter  of  the  Col- 
lege, at  the  time  of  the  accession  of  Leverett  to  the 
presidency. 

The  election  of  the  Brattles  was  inauspicious  to 
the  projects  of  the  Mathers,  whether  they  were  intro- 
duced by  way  of  filling  vacancies,  or  increasing  the 
number.  The  admission  of  the  son  of  Willard  to  an 
office  in  the  College,  indicates,  that  the  proceedings 
harmonized  with  the  wishes  of  the  Vice-President. 

Of  all  the  statesmen,  who  have  been  instrumental  influence 

•  •  i  f   TT  i    r~\    n  T  i      of  Govern- 

in  promoting  the  interests  of  Harvard  College,  Joseph  or  Dudley. 

Dudley  was  most  influential  in  giving  its  constitu- 
tion a  permanent  character.  The  Mathers,  who 
never  ceased  to  entertain  ulterior  views,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  College,  paid  early  and  distinguished 
obeisance  to  this  rising  sun.  Increase  Mather,  in  a 
sermon  preached  on  the  day  of  general  election,  in 
1702,  at  which  Dudley  was  expected  to  be  present, 
placed  in  high  relief  the  topics  on  which  the  clergy 

*  See  above,   page  107. 


152  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   of  Massachusetts,  and  especially  those  in  the  superin- 

! —  tendence  of  the  College,  were  divided  ;  "  the  Order 

of  the  Gospel,"  and  "  the  Platform  of  the  Churches," 
warning  and  exhorting,  that  such  measures  might  be 
adopted,  as  that  "  the  generations  which  were  to  come 
should  not  deviate  from  the  holy  ways  in  which  their 
The  Math-  fathers  had  walked."  As  Governor  Dudley  was  not 

era  laud 

Dudley.  present  on  the  occasion,  the  President  availed  himself 
of  the  circumstance,  to  prefix  to  that  sermon  an  "  Epis- 
tle Dedicatory "  to  the  Governor.  In  this  he  extols 
the  father  of  Governor  Dudley  as  "  a  principal  founder 
and  pillar  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts,  and  as  a 
nursing-father  of  the  churches,"  and  lauds  the  Gov- 
ernor himself  as  "  blessed  with  rare  accomplishments, 
natural  and  acquired,"  assures  him  of  "  the  greatness 
of 'his  soul,"  and  that  he  "is,  beyond. all  others,  ad- 
vantaged to  serve  and  honor  Christ,  by  promoting 
the  welfare  of  his  churches." 

Dudley  re-  Dudley,  who  well  knew  the  activity  and  influence  of 
President  Mather,  reciprocated  his  civilities  in  language 
equally  flattering;  taking  occasion  to  say,  so  that  it  came 
to  the  knowledge  of  President  Mather,  that,  "  if  he  ever 
had  a  spiritual  father,  Mather  was  the  man."  *  Cotton 
Mather,  not  less  ambitious  than  his  father,  had  been 
even  more  prescient  of  the  coming  of  this  new  politi- 
cal influence.  While  Dudley  was  yet  in  Europe,  he 
became  so  assured  of  his  success,  as  to  write  a  letter 
in  favor  of  Dudley's  pretensions,  which  Dudley  read  to 
the  King,  and  was  said  to  have  been  not  without 
effect  on  his  appointment,  f 

It  appears  also,  by  Cotton  Mather's  Diary,  that  he 


*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  III.  p.  127. 

t  Ibid.  p.  128.     Also  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.  Vol.  II.  chap.  1.  p.  115. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  153 

was  visited  by  Dudley  immediately  on  his  arrival  as   CHAPTER 

Governor.     During  this  interview,  Mather  took  occa-  ! — 

sion  to  warn  Dudley  against  Byfield  and  Leverett,  as 
those  he  deemed  leaders  in  opposition  to  the  "  order 
of  the  Gospel,"  and  "  the  true  construction  of  the 
Cambridge  Platform."  Dudley  was  too  old  a  poli- 
tician not  to  discern  Cotton  Mather's  motives,  and, 
being  inclined  to  the  party  opposed  to  the  Mathers, 
did  not  fail  to  inform  both  Byfield  and  Leverett  of  this 
warning.  This  drew  from  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  Diary, 
the  following  characteristic  comment.  "  The  WRETCH 
went  unto  those  men  and  told  them,  that  I  had  ad- 
vised him  to  be  no  ways  advised  by  them,  and  inflamed 
them  into  an  implacable  rage  against  me."* 

Notwithstanding  this  cause  of  discontent,  Cotton 
Mather  maintained  a  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
Governor  during  the  vice-presidency  of  Willard  ;  and 
circumstances  indicate,  that  neither  he  nor  his  father, 
during  the  whole  period,  ceased  to  flatter  themselves 
with  the  belief,  that  Dudley's  weight  would  finally 
be  thrown  into  their  scale. 

No  further  movement  took  place  in  the  legislature 
of  the  Province  relative  to  the  College  until  the  year 
1705,  when  the  records  of  the  Council  contain  the 
following  statement.  "  2d  January,  1705.  His  Ex-  Dudley's 

message 

cellency  intimated  to  the  Council,  that,  by  letters  from  concerning 

J  J  the  Coi- 

England,    there   was  encouragement  to  hope,   that  a  le&|L- 

1  i  0  o  • 

charter  of  incorporation  might  be  obtained  from  her 
Majesty  for  Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge,  if  proper 
application  was  made  ;  and  the  draft,  proposed  in  his 
late  Majesty's  reign,  was  ordered  to  be  laid  on  the 
table  to  be  read." 


*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  III.  p.  137. 
VOL.    I.  20 


154  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       No  measures,  however,  were  taken  in  either  branch 
-  in  consequence  of  these  suggestions  of  Governor  Dud- 
ley ;  and  this  was  the  last  attempt  ever  made  to  obtain 
a  charter  for  the  College  from  the  crown. 

The  circumstances  of  the  period  render  it  probable, 
that  the  politicians  and  divines  of  that  day  perceived, 
with  certainty,  that  no  charter  could  be  obtained  from 
the  English  sovereign,  which  would  be  acceptable  to 
either  of  those  ecclesiastical  parties,  which  were  then 
striving  for  ascendency  in  Massachusetts.  Both, 

state  of       however  differing  with  each  other,  concurred  in  being- 
parties,  and       .        .  ° 

itsconse-     alike  jealous  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  Episco- 

quences. 

pal  Church ;  which,  being  considered  inimical  as 
well  to  the  civil  as  to  the  ecclesiastical  liberties  of 
Massachusetts,  became  equally  the  object  of  re- 
ligious prejudice  and  of  popular  dislike.  The  root, 
which  the  Episcopal  Church  was  now  beginning  to 
strike  in  the  land,  under  the  direct  patronage  of  the 
English  hierarchy,  became  a  common  object  of  fear 
with  every  class  of  Congregationalists.  All  perceived 
the  hope  to  be  vain,  that  the  English  monarch  would 
permit  the  chief  seminary  of  learning  in  the  Province 
to  obtain  a  charter,  unless  it  received  an  ominous  in- 
fusion of  Episcopalian  influences. 

Every  antecedent  application  for  a  charter  had  been 
made  at  the  suggestion  of  President  Mather,  and  was 
coupled  with  a  project,  avowed  or  understood,  that  he 
should  have  the  negotiation  of  it  at  the  British  court. 
This,  and  probably  this  alone,  rendered  such  an  appli- 
cation safe,  in  the  opinion  of  the  stern  adherents  of 
the  early  New  England  Congregational  church ;  since 
upon  him  they  could  rely,  not  only  for  resisting  any 
attempt  favoring  Episcopacy,  but  also  for  securing  to 
themselves  that  predominancy,  which  they  claimed, 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  155 

and   which   was    in  danger   of  passing  out   of   their  CHAPTER 

hands,  in  consequence  of  the   schisms   beginning    to  ' . 

arise  among  Congregationalists. 

The  conflict  of  interests  and  passions,  which  this 
state  of  things  induced,  made  all  parties  unwilling  to 
cooperate  in  the  suggestions  of  Governor  Dudley.  It 
is  possible,  also,  that  a  wrant  of  confidence  in  the 
sincerity  of  Dudley  himself  might  have  increased  their 
hesitation  to  make  an  application  for  a  charter  under 
his  auspices.  Dudley  was  a  thoroughly  educated 
courtier ;  and  the  people  of  Massachusetts  had  re- 
peatedly witnessed  his  willingness  to  serve  the  crown 
in  cases  contrary  to  their  interests,  or  counteracting 
their  prejudices.  They  had  reason  to  anticipate,  that 
any  condition  the  monarch  might  choose  to  insert, 
however  opposed  to  their  religious  views,  would  re- 
ceive the  support  of  a  courtier  equally  shrewd  and 
fearless ;  skilful,  under  every  aspect  of  the  political 
sky,  to  shape  his  course  by  his  interests. 

Whatever  were  the  motives,  it  is  certain,  that  Dud- 
ley's intimation  received  no  countenance  from  any 
party,  religious  or  political.  The  friends  of  the  Col- 
lege now  became  convinced,  that  its  satisfactory  settle- 
ment, in  respect  to  a  charter,  could  only  be  effected 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Provincial  legisla- 
ture. Of  this  policy,  Dudley,  if  he  was  not  the  author, 
as  is  probable,  was  certainly  the  supporter.  He  gave 
it  his  countenance,  possibly  because  that  division  of 
the  Congregationalists  which  he  favored,  predominated 
in  the  Corporation,  and  was  the  least  obnoxious  to 
the  Episcopal  church,  which  he  cherished,  and  whose 
worship  he  attended.  Measures  having  this  tendency 
were  not  developed  during  the  life  of  Vice-President 
Willard.  His  death,  which  occurred  on  the  12th  of  Sep- 


156  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   tember,  1707,  gave  publicity  to  this  new  policy;  which 
•  —  was  adopted  and  carried  into  effect  with  equal  boldness 
and  success.     On  the  28th  of  October  following  that 


lard.  event,  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  met,  and  chose 

j  707. 

John  Leverett  President.  The  records  of  the  Corpora- 
tion simply  state,  that  he  was  "  chosen  President  of 
Harvard  College."  In  the  address  of  the  ministers, 
favoring  this  appointment,  to  Governor  Dudley,  it  is 
said,  that  "  he  was  chosen  by  a  unanimous  vote." 
The  Diary  of  Judge  Sewall  gives  a  more  natural,  and 
probably  an  authentic  account  of  the  transaction. 
Leverett  By  his  statement  it  appears,  that  fourteen  members 

elected  /  ^        . 

President,  of  the  Corporation  were  present.  In  this  he  concurs 
with  the  records.  His  Diary  proceeds  to  state,  that 
eight  votes  were  given  for  Leverett,  three  for  In- 
crease Mather,  one  for  Cotton  Mather,  and  one  for 
Mr.  Brattle,  and  that  one  member  declined  voting.* 
This,  upon  the  supposition,  which  the  known  relations 
of  things  render  almost  certain,  that  the  vote  of  Lev- 
erett (he  being  himself  a  member  of  the  Corporation) 
was  thrown  for  Brattle,  gives  a  fair  representation  of 
the  comparative  power  of  the  religious  parties,  as 
they  were  then  represented  in  that  body. 

On  the  llth  of  the  ensuing  November,  the  election 
of  Leverett  was  presented  officially  to  Governor  Dud- 
ley, by  the  Corporation,  recommending  the  President 
"  to  his  favorable  acceptance,  and  praying,  that  he 
would  move  the  General  Assembly  for  his  honorable 
subsistence."  f  The  recommendation  was,  as  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Court  state,  "  accompanied  with  addresses 
from  thirty-nine  ministers."  This  was,  unquestion- 
ably, a  wise  precautionary  measure,  in  a  state  of 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  XIX. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  157 

theological    controversy    then    extremely    vivid    and   CHAPTER 

VIII 

exciting,  and  one  which    the  call  of  a  layman  to   a  _  !  — 
chair,   that  had  never   before    been  occupied    except 
by  a  clergyman,  rendered  not  so  much  expedient  as 
necessary.     In  this  address  the  signing  ministers  ex-  Address 

of  the  mift 

press  their   "great    joy   at  the   choice   of    Leverett,     istersm 

fc  J    J  favor  of 

"  their  affection  and  esteem  for  him,"   "  their  satisfac- 


tion  and  assurance  of  his  religion,  learning,  and  other 
excellent  accomplishments  for  that  eminent  service  ;  a 
long  experience  of  which,"  they  add,  "  we  had  while 
he  was  the  Senior  Fellow  of  that  House  ;  for  that, 
under  the  wise  and  faithful,  government  of  him  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Brattle  of  Cambridge,  the  greatest  part 
of  the  now  rising  ministry  in  New  England  were 
happily  educated  ;  and  we  hope,  and  promise  our- 
selves, through  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  our  fathers, 
to  see  religion  and  learning  thrive  and  flourish  in  that 
society  under  Mr.  Leverett's  wise  conduct  and  in- 
fluence, as  much  as  ever  yet  it  hath  done."  * 

These  proceedings  being  communicated  by  the 
Governor  to  the  Council  on  the  same  day,  the  election 
of  Mr.  Leverett  was  accepted  by  them,  and  the  vote 
sent  down  to  the  Representatives  for  their  concur- 
rence. 

This  branch  seem  not  to  have  been  prepared,  how- 
ever, for  the  measure  ;  for  they  immediately  non-con- 
curred in  the  vote  of  the  Council,  and,  adopting  the 
policy  of  postponement,  on  the  29th  of  November  sent 
up  to  the  Council  a  message  in  writing,  for  "  the  choice 
of  a  suitable  person  to  take  care  of  the  College  until 
the  session  of  the  Court  in  May  next." 

The  Council,  on  the  3d  of  December,  after  a  con- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XX. 


158  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   ference  with  the  House,  refused  to  join  in  the  choice 

vriT 

- —  of  a  person  to  take  charge  of  the  College  till  May. 

From  the  subsequent  proceedings  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  it  is  natural  to  infer,  that  their  non- 
concurrence  in  Leverett's  election  proceeded  from  a 
spirit  of  economy  rather  than  from  any  objections  to 
him,  personal,  religious,  or  political. 

In  July,  1700,  when  the  friends  of  President  Mather 
were  desirous  of  removing  all  his  objections  to  fixing 
his  residence  at  Cambridge,  a  resolve  had  passed, 
"  allowing  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds 
to  the  President  already  chosen,  or  that  shall  be 
chosen,  by  the  Court,  he  residing  at  Cambridge." 
It  was  perceived,  that,  if  Leverett's  election  had  been 
confirmed,  his  right  to  this  salary  would  have  attached  ; 
and  those  disposed  to  counteract  the  proceedings  of 
the  Corporation  availed  themselves  of  this  circum- 
stance, first  to  induce  the  House  to  non-concur  in  the 
vote  of  the  Council,  and  next  to  propose  a  postpone- 
ment until  the  next  General  Court.  After  the  firm- 
ness displayed  by  the  Council  in  opposition  to  this 
proposition,  a  resolve  passed  the  House,  declaring  void 
the  resolve  of  July,  1700  ;  and,  as  soon  as  this  re- 
scinding vote  was  known  to  have  received  the  consent 
of  Governor  Dudley,  another  resolve,  founded  upon 
the  acceptance  and  approval  of  Mr.  Leverett  as  Presi- 
dent by  the  Governor  and  Council,  was  passed  in 
Council,  proposing,  that  "  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives consider  of  and  grant  a  suitable  salary  to  be  paid 
to  the  President  annually,  out  of  the  public  treasury, 
for  his  encouragement  and  support  during  his  con- 
tinuance in  the  said  office,  residing  at  Cambridge,  and 
discharging  the  proper  duties  to  a  President  belong- 
ing, and  entirely  devoting  himself  to  that  service." 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  159 

To  the  above  was  subjoined  the  following  compre-   CHAPTER 

hensive,  substantive,  and  efficient  clause,  furnishing  at  '. 

once  the  long-sought  charter  for  the  College,  and  ful- 
filling the  utmost  desire  of  its  friends,  in  a  form  not 
requiring  the  sanction  of  the  crown,  and  deriving  all 
its  efficacy  from  'the  authority  of  the  Provincial  legis- 
lature. 

"And,  inasmuch  as  the  first  foundation  and  establish-  f6h^rtreer.of 
ment  of  that  House  and  the  government  thereof  had  its  TiTed- 
original  from  an  act  of  the   General  Court,  made  and 
passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty, 
which  has  not  been  repealed  or  nulled ; 

"  The  President  and  Fellows  of  the  said  College  are 
directed  from  time  to  time  to  regulate  themselves  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  constitution  by  the  act  prescribed ; 
and  to  exercise  the  powers  and  authorities  thereby 
granted  for  the  government  of  that  House,  and  support 
thereof."  * 

This  charter,  after  having  annexed  to  it  a  vote  of 
the  Representatives,  establishing  a  salary  for  the  Presi- 
dent of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  was  enacted  *on 
the  6th  of  December,  1707,  by  the  official  consent 
of  Governor  Dudley. f 

This  measure  had,  probably,  its  origin  in  the  depths 
of  Dudley's  own  mind,  and  is  marked  with  boldness 
and  sagacity,  eminently  characteristic  of  him.  It  is 
hardly  probable  that  any  other  person -would  have  ven- 
tured to  propose  a  course  so  full  of  responsibility,  and 
so  apparently  irreconcilable  with  the  duties  growing  out 
of  the  relation  in  which  he  stood  to  the  British  sove- 
reign. It  was,  in  fact,  a  measure  in  contradiction  of 
the  avowed  principles,  which  the  government  of  the 
parent  state  had  adopted  and  acted  upon  in  relation 
to  Massachusetts. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVIII. 


160  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


VIII. 


CHAPTER  Those  principles  were,  that  the  first  colonial  charter 
was  only  a  private  act  of  incorporation,  and  gave  no 
right  to  create  other  charters  ;  that,  by  the  judgment 
upon  quo  warranto,  in  1684,  the  first  charter  of  the 
Colony  had  been  vacated,  and  that  all  charters  grant- 
ed under  its  authority  were,  on  this  account  also,  ab- 
solutely void ;  principles,  which  Dudley  himself  had 
openly  asserted,  and  consequences,  which  he  had  pub- 
licly maintained.* 

The  power  of  granting  charters  was  deemed  by  the 
crown  one  of  its  most  precious  prerogatives ;  and  one, 
the  infringement  of  which  was  the  subject  of  extreme 
jealousy.  Charters  of  the  College,  also,  had  been 
several  times  subjected  to  the  consideration  of  the  King 
or  of  his  royal  Governors,  and  had  been  rejected 
avowedly  on  the  ground,  that  they  did  not  vest  the 
visitatorial  power  exclusively  in  the  King,  or  in  his 
colonial  Governor. 

In  defiance  of  all  these  recognised  principles,  all 
these  evidences  of  royal  interests  and  royal  claims, 
Dudley  had  the  boldness  to  consent  to  revive  the  Col- 
lege charter  of  1650;  and  thus  established  a  char- 
ter without,  and  contrary  to,  the  will  of  the  British 
sovereign  ;  including  a  visitatorial  power,  which  the 
colonial  Governors  shared  with  a  board  appointed  by 
the  colonial  legislature ;  the  whole  effected  by  the 
form  of  a  simple  legislative  resolve,  which,  in  its 
nature,  did  not  require  the  sanction  of  the  sovereign, 
and  of  course  was  never  submitted  to  his  inspec- 
tion. 

By  what  means  the  vigilance  of  the  British  states- 
men was  in  this  instance  deceived,  whether  Dudley 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  III.  p.  126. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  161 

relied   on   their  ignorance  of  colonial  affairs  or  their  CHAPTER 

VIII, 

indifference  to  them,  or  whether  he  took  measures  to — 

satisfy  the  British  Court  of  their  expediency  in  the 
actual  state  of  things  in  Massachusetts,  does  not  appear 
from  history.  It  does  appear,  however,  that  he  took 
the  great  responsibility  of  the  policy,  and  that  those  to 
whom  it  was  obnoxious  attributed  it  to  his  influence. 
He  deserves,  therefore,  all  the  credit  of  its  benefits 
and  its  success. 

It  is  also  certain,  that  the  measure  received  the 
almost  universal  approbation  of  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts;  that  the  act  of  1650,  thus  revived  by  a 
legislative  resolve,  has  been  ever  since  recognised  as 
the  charter  of  the  College  ;  that,  during  the  contin- 
uance of  the  colonial  relation,  it  received  the  uniform 
support  of  judicial  decision  and  legislative  sanction ; 
and  that,  on  the  adoption  of  the  State  Constitution,  in 
1780,  it  was  ratified  and  confirmed.  Thus,  by  virtue 
of  uniform  judicial  construction,  successive  legislative 
sanctions,  and  ultimate  constitutional  ratification,  the 
charter  of  1650  has  been  established  on  a  firm  and 
now  incontrovertible  basis. 

VOL.  i.  21 


162 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


John  Win- 
throp. 


Retrospective  View  of  the  Benefactors  of  the  College,  during  the  Sev- 
enteenth Century.  —  John  Winthrop.  —  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  and  his 
Son.  —  Robert  Keayne.  —  Edward  Hopkins.  —  Israel  Stoughton.  — 
William  Stoughton.  —  Henry  Webb.  —  William  Brown.  —  John  Bulk- 
ley. —  Lady  Moulson. —  Sir  Matthew  Holworthy.  —  Theophilus  Gale. 
—  William  Pennoyer.  —  Robert  Thorner.  —  Joseph  Glover.  —  College 
Printing  Press.  —  Course  of  Studies  and  literary  State  of  the  College 
during  this  Century. 

THE  restoration  of  the  early  charter  of  Harvard 
College,  under  the  auspices  of  Dudley,  forms  an  era  in 
its  history.  The  almost  universal  acquiescence  in  the 
policy  of  the  measure  terminated  all  attempts  to  seek 
a  more  formal  establishment  from  the  crown.  The  Col- 
lege was  thus  placed  in  new  relations,  and  those  more 
literary  and  less  exclusively  theological.  Gratitude  de- 
mands, that  we  should  here  stay  our  narrative,  and  pay 
a  passing  tribute  to  those  generous  and  public-spirited 
individuals,  who,  in  times  of  political  convulsion,  amid 
poverty  and  embarrassment,  by  the  protection  and  aid 
they  extended,  gave  a  vigor  and  expansion  to  the  in- 
stitution, which  rendered  it,  in  the  coming  age,  an 
object  of  pride  and  patronage  to  the  people  and  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts. 

Next  to  Harvard,  John  Winthrop,  the  leader  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  and  seven  times  its  elected 
Governor,  deserves  grateful  commemoration.  The 
loss  of  property,  from  the  sacrifices  he  had  made  in 
support  of  the  Colony,  or  from  unfaithfulness  in  those 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY  163 

to  whom  he  had  intrusted  his  affairs,  deprived  him,  CHAPTER 
indeed,  of  the  means  of  great  pecuniary  benefactions  ;  ' 
but  his  donation  of  books  was  large  and  valuable. 
In  that  early  day,  forty  volumes  made  an  important 
addition  to  the  library  of  the  institution.  A  list  of 
these  is  yet  preserved  in  its  archives.  His  name  and 
influence  were  always  given  in  its  support.  There 
is  probably  no  one,  to  whose  patronage  the  College 
was  more  indebted,  during  the  period  of  its  infancy, 
and  consequent  weakness  and  dependence.  His  vir- 
tues and  public  services  have  been  too  frequently  the 
subject  of  history  arid  eulogy,  to  need  in  this  work 
any  illustration. 

Second  only  to  Harvard  and  Winthrop,  in  order  of 
time,  amount  of  benefactions,  and  value  of  services, 
stands  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall ;  *  that  "  excellent  sir  Richard 

Saltonstall. 

knight,"  as  he  is  called  by  Mather,  that  "  much  hon- 
ored and  upright-hearted  servant  of  Christ,"  as  he  is 
denominated  by  Johnson. f  He  came  over  in  1630 
with  Winthrop.  But  soon,  "  wearied  of  this  wilderness 
work,"  he  returned  to  England ;  and,  during  a  life 
protracted  beyond  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, continued  the  faithful,  active,  devoted  friend  of 
the  Colony  and  the  College.  He  defended  both  against 
the  assaults  and  aspersions  of  their  respective  ene- 
mies, and,  on  all  occasions,  vindicated  their  character 
and  interests.  He  was  not,  however,  blind  to  the 
failings,  nor  insensible  to  the  inconsistencies,  of  the 
ecclesiastical  leaders  of  the  Colony.  His  kind  and 
catholic  spirit  was  touched  with  sorrow  at  the  perse- 
cutions they  were  carrying  on  against  liberty  of  con- 


*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  IV.  p.  155. 
t  Ibid.,  Vol.  III.  p.  147. 


164  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   science.     Nor  could  the  interest,  which  he  took  in  the 

IX 

—  honor  and  welfare  of  New  England,  be,  in  any  way, 
more  strikingly  manifested,  than  it  is  in  that  deep  and 
solemn  tone  of  remonstrance,  in  which  he  addresses 
John  Cotton  and  John  Wilson,  the  most  powerful  of 
all  those  ecclesiastical  leaders,  on  the  "  tyranny  and 
persecutions  of  New  England."  *  "  We  pray  for 
you,"  says  he,  "  that  the  Lord  will  give  you  light  and 
love."  "  These  rigid  ways  are  laying  you  very  low 
in  the  hearts  of  the  saints."  "  By  compelling  any  in 
matters  of  worship,  you  make  many  hypocrites." 
"  Do  not  assume  to  yourselves  infallibility  of  judg- 
ment, when  the  most  learned  of  the  apostles  con- 
fesseth  he  knew  but  in  part,  and  saw  but  darkly  as 
through  a  glass."  During  life  he  had  contributed  by 
his  purse  and  influence  to  the  foundation  and  advance- 
ment of  the  seminary.  At  his  death  he  made  a  lib- 
eral bequest  for  its  support. 
Richard  His  son,  of  the  same  name,  a  kindred  spirit,  and 

Saltonstall. 

of  like  moral  worth,  imbibed  his  father's  attachment 
to  the  College,  and  displayed  equal  zeal  and  self- 
devotion  in  advancing  its  interests.  This  country 
being  the  place  of  his  principal  abode,  he  had  opportu- 
nities of  rendering  frequent  useful  services,  of  which 
he  never  failed  to  avail  himself.  It  appears,  by  the 
records  of  the  College,  that,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  sterling,  subscribed  in  1654  for  the  repairs  of 
its  buildings,  by  twenty-six  individuals,  his  subscription 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  four  pounds.  Subse- 
quently, being  in  England,  he  transmitted  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pounds  for  its  benefit.  Whether 
this  was  a  donation  of  his  own,  or  was  his  father's 

*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  IV.  p.  171. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  165 

legacy,  has  been  made  a  question.     It  is  a  point,  how-   CHAPTER 

ever,  of  little  consequence.     The  deed  belongs  to  the  ! — 

honors  of  the  name  of  Saltonstall,  emblazoned  in 
every  period  of  our  history  by  its  public  spirit  and  its 
private  charities. 

Richard  Saltonstall,  not  less  than  his  father,  was 
distinguished  for  fixedness  of  purpose  and  indepen- 
dence of  opinion,  and  was  as  much  in  advance  of  his 
age  and  country  in  his  views  of  civil,  as  was  his  father 
in  his,  of  religious  liberty.  In  1637,  he  took  the  side 
of  Winthrop  in  the  struggle  against  the  ascendency 
of  Vane,  and,  on  its  success,  came  into  the  Board  of 
Assistants,  when  Winthrop  was  elected  Governor.* 
Notwithstanding  his  political  predilections  were  in 
favor  of  Winthrop,  yet  his  principles  of  liberty  were 
so  repugnant  to  the  idea  of  "  a  standing  Council,  com- 
posed of  members  elected  for  life,"  that  he  wrote  a 
book  expressly  against  it ;  denominating  the  Council  , 
"  a  sinful  innovation,  which  ought  to  be  reformed."! 
The  boldness  and  spirit  which  characterized  the  work 
displeased  Winthrop  and  the  ecclesiastical  leaders. 
Deeming  it  an  attempt  to  undermine  the  essential 
foundations  of  the  government,  Governor  Winthrop 
"  twice  moved,  that  the  matter  of  that  book  "  should 
be  taken  into  the  solemn  consideration  of  the  General 
Court.  Such,  however,  was  the  popularity  of  Salton- 
stall, and  probably  so  congenial  were  the  principles 
of  the  work  with  the  views  of  the  majority,  and  so 
satisfied  were  they  of  "  the  honest  intentions  of  the 
writer,  and  that  his  design  was  in  favor  of  popular 
liberty,"  that  the  Court  would  not  even  inquire  into 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  p.  220. 

f  Mass.   Hist.   Coll.,   Second   Series,   Vol.   VI.  p.   385;   Vol.   III. 
p.  147. 


166  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the  subject,  until  they  had  first  "  voted  an  indemnity 

' —   to  the  author  against  any  censure."  * 

In  the  succeeding  age  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
dilate  on  the  worth  and  the  virtues  of  Gurdon  and 
Mary  and  Dorothy  Saltonstall,  whose  noble  benefac- 
tions continue  to  diffuse  blessings  even  in  our  own 
times.  Nor  does  truth  permit  us  to  fail  in  remem- 
bering, that  this  family,  distinguished  in  every  age 
for  intellect,  faithfulness,  and  honor,  as  w.ell  as  for 
intense  attachment  to  Harvard  College,  is,  at  this  day, 
especially  fortunate,  that  the  heir  of  their  house  is 
also  the  heir  of  their  affections  and  virtues,  f 

Robert  Among  our  earliest  benefactors,  Robert  Keayne  is 

Keayne.  .  » 

entitled  to  grateful  and  special  remembrance.  He 
came  to  New  England  with  Winthrop,  and  is  charac- 
terized by  him,  as  a  man  of  "  eminent  parts,"  "  an 
ancient  professor  of  the  Gospel,"  "  coming  over  for  its 
advancement  and  for  conscience'  sake";  as  "  wealthy," 
"  given  to  hospitality,"  "  very  useful  to  the  country," 
and  a  large  contributor  to  its  free  "  schools."  t  He 
was  first  Captain  of  the  Boston  Artillery  Company, 
now  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  "  The  Ancient 
and  Honorable  " ;  §  for  several  years  a  representative 
of  that  town  in  the  General  Court;  being  a  firm  ad- 
herent of  the  colonial  government,  and  possessing  its 
confidence  in  a  high  degree'.  In  the  civil  dissensions  in 
1637,  when  the  Antinomians  were  disarmed,  his  house 
was  appointed  to  be  the  place  for  safe-keeping  of  the 
arms,  ||  of  which  the  malcontents  had  been  deprived. 
Notwithstanding  his  usefulness  and  virtues,  he  became 


*  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  II.  pp.  89,  116. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXI. 

J  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  p.  315.      §  Ibid.  254.       ||  Ibid.  248. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  167 

obnoxious  on  account  of  the  "  corrupt  practice "  of    CHAPTER 

"  selling  dearer  than  most  traders."     For  this  offence — 

he  was  "  convented  before  the  incensed  deputies,"  and, 
after  solemn  trial,  "  convicted,"  fined  two  hundred 
pounds,  publicly  admonished  by  the  church,  and  hardly 
did  he  escape  excommunication.  These  civil  and  reli- 
gious persecutions  did  not  subject  him  to  any  perma- 
nent loss  of  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He 
was  subsequently  elected  four  times  a  Representative 
of  the  town  of  Boston,  and  once  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Deputies.  In  his  last  will  he  took  care  to  inter- 
weave self-vindication  with  noble  donations  to  public 
uses ;  thus  compelling  the  officers  of  government  to 
put  upon  the  public  records  his  defence  against  "  the 
hard  measures  meted  to  him  by  the  government  of  the 
country."  This  will  occupies  one  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  folio  pages  of  the  Probate  Records  of  the  County 
of  Suffolk.  After  vindicating  his  character,  with  a 
pathos  indicative  of  a  keen  sense  of  the  injustice  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected,  and  appropriating  two 
hundred  pounds  sterling,  to  be  paid  to  any  man,  who 
shall  make  it  satisfactorily  appear  he  has  been  wronged 
or  defrauded  by  him,  he  speaks  of  the  government  of  the 
country  in  a  Christian  and  forgiving  spirit,  "  as  having 
failings,"  yet,  on  the  whole,  as  being,  he  believes,  "  the 
happiest  and  wisest,  this  day,  in  the  world."  He  then 
adds,  that,  "  though  he  has  suffered  enough  from  the 
public  to  tie  up  both  his  hands,"  yet,  "  being  desirous 
to  requite  evil  with  good,  and  though  he  cannot  forget, 
being  willing  to  forgive,"  and  "  deeming  it  a  want 
of  gratitude  to  God,  for  prosperous  men  to  leave  all 
to  wife,  children,  or  relatives,  and  nothing  to  the 
public,  or  to  charity,"  and  declaring  his  estate  to  be 
four  thousand  pounds  sterling,  he  proceeds  to  give 


168  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   twelve  hundred   pounds    to  objects  of  public  use   or 

'. —  private  charity ;  included  in  which  were  two  hundred 

and  fifty  pounds  to  Harvard  College  ;  *  adding,  with 
no  less  point  than  prudence  and  wisdom,  that  none 
of  it  should  be  spent  in  brick  and  mortar,  or  repairs  ; 
"  for  buildings  and  halls  it  belongs  to  the  public  to 
find." 
Kdward  Next  in  order  of  time,  the  noble  beneficence  of 

Hopkins. 

Edward  Hopkins  stands  in  bold  relief;  exceeded  by 
that  of  none  of  his  contemporaries  in  original  value, 
Sir  Matthew  Holworthy  and  William  Stoughton  alone 
excepted  ;  and,  at  the  present  day,  greatly  surpassing 
those  of  both,  in  amount  and  efficiency.  Few,  if  any 
of  the  early  emigrants  to  New  England,  have  left  a 
name  surrounded  by  a  purer  or  more  unfading  lustre. 
In  the  parent  State,  as  well  as  in  the  Colony,  his  tal- 
ents and  virtues  received  the  reward  of  place,  pre- 
ferment, and  authority.  After  having  pursued  the 
mercantile  line  with  success  in  London,  and  lived  in 
that  city  in  splendor  and  the  exercise  of  hospital- 
ity until  the  year  1637,  he  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try ;  f  being  then  about  thirty-eight  years  of  age. 
His  great  estate,  eminent  abilities,  and  distinguished 
piety  and  integrity,  made  him  a  welcome  visitant,  and 
every  inducement  was  proffered  by  the  legislature  of 
the  Colony,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  the  settle- 
ments in  its  vicinity,  to  induce  him  to  fix  his  residence 
in  Massachusetts,  without  success,  t  The  fertile  soil 


*  See  Suffolk  Probate  Records,  Vol.  I.  p.  116,  etc. 

t  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  V.  p.  262 ;  Vol.  VI. 
p.  329 ;  Vol.  I.  p.  231  ;  Vol.  VII.  p.  8  ;  First  Series,  Vol.  IV.  pp.  15 
and  182  ;  Vol.  VII.  p.  22. 

J  Trumbull's  Hist,  of  Connecticut,  chap.  VI.  and  VII.  Savage's 
Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  p.  228  ;  Vol.  II.  pp.  216,  329. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  169 

on  the   Connecticut  had  charms  for  him,  which   the   CHAPTER 

T-y 

rock-bound  shores  of  the  "Bay   State  "  did  not  pos-  

sess.  He  was  desirous  of  planting  a  Church  and  a 
State,  approaching  nearer  to  that  model  of  perfection, 
which  he  had  conceived  in  fancy,  and  to  which  the 
first  settlers  in  Massachusetts  had  not,  in  his  judgment, 
attained.  Led  by  this  desire,  Hopkins  accompanied 
John  Davenport  and  Theophilus  Eaton,  whose  views 
were  consonant  with  his  own,  to  the  west.  Daven- 
port and  Eaton  established  themselves  at  New  Haven ; 
Hopkins  took  up  his  residence  at  Hartford.  There 
he  was  immediately  appointed  a  magistrate.  He  soon 
after  assisted  in  framing  the  first  constitution  of  the 
Colony,  and,  for  several  years,  alternated  with  John 
Haynes  in  the  office  of  Governor.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  Commissioners,  who  formed  the  articles  of  con- 
federation of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England 
in  1643;  the  precursor  of  that  confederation,  which, 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  afterwards,  was  the 
instrument  of  American  Independence.  He  suc- 
ceeded Winthrop  as  President  of  that  board,  which, 
for  forty  years,  was  the  refuge  and  defence  of  the 
fathers  of  New  England,  and  the  medium  of  all  gen- 
eral attempts  to  extend  to  the  savages  of  the  wilder- 
ness the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  In  1652,  Hopkins 
returned  to  England,  where  his  integrity  and  talent 
were  soon  noticed  and  called  into  public  service  by 
that  keen  observer  of  human  nature,  Cromwell,  who 
successively  appointed  him  First  Warden  of  the  fleet, 
and  Commissioner  of  the  army  and  of  the  navy ;  and 
afterwards,  through  the  same  influence,  he  obtained 
a  seat  in  Parliament.  His  spirit  was  not  only  active, 
but  elastic ;  since  it  seems  neither  to  have  been  sub- 
dued by  a  grievous  pulmonary  affection,  which  pur- 
VOL.  i.  22 


170  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   sued  him  during  thirty  years  of  his  life,  and  finally 

. —  brought   it   to   a   close  ;    nor   yet  crushed   under  the 

weight  of  the  severest  of  all  domestic  afflictions,  the 
irrecoverable  derangement  of  a  wife,  who,  before  her 
bereavement  of  reason,  was  distinguished  for  her  vir- 
tues, her  intelligence,  and  accomplishments. 

His  last  will  is  an  interesting  monument  of  private 
friendship  and  public  spirit ;  and  justifies  the  universal 
language  of  his  contemporaries,  who,  in  eulogizing 
his  character,  never  fail  to  celebrate  his  possession  of 
those  qualities,  which  make  a  man  beloved.  To  nu- 
merous friends  and  domestics  he  bequeathed  legacies, 
amounting  to  four  thousand  pounds  sterling ;  to  insti- 
tutions in  Connecticut,  for  the  promotion  of  religion, 
science,  or  charity,  one  thousand  pounds  sterling.  For 
the  advancement  of  the  same  noble  objects  in  Massa- 
chusetts, the  bequest  of  five  hundred  pounds,  vested 
in  trustees,  was  destined  to  find  its  sphere  of  useful 
ness  in  Harvard  College,  or  its  vicinity.*  After  an 
unceasing  flow  of  annual  benefits  for  more  than  a 
century,  his  bounty  now  exists  on  a  foundation  of 
productive  and  well-secured  capital,  amounting  nearly 
to  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Thus  did   this   lofty  and   intellectual  spirit  devise 
and  distribute  blessings  in  his  own  age,  and,  by  his 
wisdom,  prepare   and    make  them  perpetual  for  suc- 
ceeding times. 
Israel  Of  the  benefactors  of  Harvard  College,  during  this 

Stoughton.  .  &    ' 

first  period  of  its  existence,  the  name  of  Stoughton  is 
deservedly  among  the  most  known  and  most  honored. 
Two  of  this  family  were  early  contributors  to  Harvard 
College.  Israel  Stoughton  was  one  of  the  early  emi- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  p.  228  ;  Vol.  II.  pp.  216,  329. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  171 

grants  to  Massachusetts.  Being  a  member  of  the  CHAPTER 
House  of  Deputies  in  1634,  he  joined  the  popular  ' 
party,  placed  himself  in  opposition  to  the  magistrates, 
and  published  a  book  against  their  negative  voice. 
The  vigor  of  the  government,  at  that  day,  did  not 
allow  contumacy  of  this  kind  to  pass  unpunished, 
even  in  a  Deputy  to  the  Assembly.  He  was  disen- 
abled by  that  body  from  holding  any  public  office 
within  the  jurisdiction  during  three  years,  for  his 
offence,  in  "  affirming  that  the  Assistants  were  not 
magistrates."  The  discipline  had  a  proper  effect  upon 
Stoughton.  He  forthwith  declared  the  book  to  be 
both  "  weak  and  offensive,"  and  desired  the  Court 
to  cause  it  to  be  burnt.*  His  humility  soon  restored 
him  to  favor.  Taking  part  with  Winthrop  in  the 
struggle  against  the  ascendency  of  Vane,  he  was,  in 
1637,  elected  an  Assistant.  He  commanded  the  Mas- 
sachusetts forces  in  the  war  against  the  Pequods,  and 
in  that  service  gave  evidence  of  zeal,  courage,  and 
activity,  united  with  exemplary  fidelity  and  eminent 
wisdom,  f  His  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  dated 
"  from  Pequid,  the  2d  day  of  the  6th  week  of  our 
warfare,"  while  it  abundantly  indicates  his  vigor  and 
enlargement  of  views,  is  remarkable  for  its  disposition 
rather  to  undervalue  than  to  exaggerate  his  services 
and  sufferings  ;  t  notwithstanding,  in  that  campaign, 
the  former  had  been  great  and  the  latter  severe. 

This  war  having  been  closed  with  success,  Stough- 
ton was  successively  employed  by  the  people  as  an 

*  See  Savage's  Winthrop,  pp.  155,  220,  223,  233. 

t  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VIII.  p.  145;  Vol. 
X.  p.  59. 

I  "We  do  thankfully  acknowledge  your  care  and  tenderness  towards 
us,  signified  by  your  writings,  and  sending  my  provisions,  &c.,  and 
desire  we  may  deserve  it.  For  the  hardship  you  conceive  you  put  us 


172  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   Assistant,  and  by  the  government  as  a  Commissioner 

IX. 

- —  to  run  the  boundary  line  between  Massachusetts  and 
Plymouth.  Being  called  to  England  in  1644,  his  love 
of  arms,  or  of  the  cause,  triumphed  over  his  love  for 
his  adopted  country,  and  he  joined  the  army  of  the 
Parliament,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  in 
a  regiment  of  which  Rainsborow  was  Colonel,  and 
probably  served  under  him,  among  the  reserves,  at  the 
battle  of  Naseby;*  which  event  he  did  not  long  sur- 
vive. He  had  been  one  of  the  earliest  contributors 
to  the  College,  and,  at  his  death  in  England,  many 
years  after  its  foundation,  remembered  it  in  a  bequest 
of  three  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in  the  town 
of  Dorchester. 
William  William  Stoughton,  bis  son,  inherited  his  father's  af- 

Stoughton. 

fection  for  the  institution,  and  gave  early  promise  of  tal- 
ent and  usefulness.  His  manhood  more  than  verified 
the  promise  of  his  youth.  Rising  gradually  in  rank  and 
influence,  he  filled  a  sphere  of  greatness  and  benevo- 
lence, surpassed  by  none  of  the  Colonists.  After  being 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1650,  he  followed,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  events,  the  bias  of  the  times  and 
of  the  country,  rather  than  of  his  own  genius,  when 
he  selected  the  pulpit  as  the  station  in  which  he  was 
to  seek  employment  and  distinction.  He  continued, 
however,  more  than  twenty  years  in  the  service  of  the 
altar,  was  well  esteemed  as  a  preacher,  although  never 
a  pastor  of  any  particular  church ;  declining  invita- 

to,  and  pity  us  for,  for  my  part,  what  I  endure  is  so  little  thought  of, 
that  it  is  not  worth  pity,  neither  doth  it  trouble  me,  and  therefore  1 
desire  that  it  may  trouble  none  of  my  friends.  It  is  what  I  have  been 
acquainted  with,  in  part,  before  ;  and,  if  I  never  be  more  put  to  it 
for  God's  cause's  sake,  it  is  much  less  than  I  have  expected.  Whilst 
we  enjoy  part  in  what  is  there  to  be  had,  I  hope  we  shall  be  satisfied." 
*  Harris's  Life  of  Cromwell,  London  Edit,  of  1772.  p.  126. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  173 

tions  from  Cambridge  and  Dorchester,  and  other  eli-   CHAPTER 

gible  offers  of  settlement  in  the  ministry.  '. — 

About  the  year  1671  he  abandoned  the  desk,  and, 
following  probably  the  original  bent  of  his  mind,  be- 
came a  magistrate  and  a  politician.  In  his  new  path, 
the  extent  and  zeal  of  his  Calvinism  tended  greatly 
to  his  advancement,  under  a  constitution  founded  on 
religion,  and  in  a  period  of  society  and  a  country, 
in  which  the  influence  of  the  clergy  predominated. 
During  that  age,  in  all  negotiations  of  the  Colony 
with  the  parent  State,  one  of  the  clergy  was  deemed 
indispensable  to  any  agency,  either  for  success  abroad, 
or  confidence  at  home.  Accordingly,  when  Charles 
the  Second  directed  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1676, 
to  send  over  agents  to  make  answer  against  the  com- 
plaints of  Gorges  and  Mason,  Stoughton,  though  now 
a  magistrate,  was  deemed  sufficiently  identified  with 
the  clergy,  to  be  appointed  one  of  the  agents,  as 
their  representative,  and  went  to  Europe  in  that  ca- 
pacity, with  the  full  approbation  of  the  ecclesiastical 
leaders  of  the  Colony.  He  remained  in  England 
until  1679,  but  attained  nothing,  except  time  and 
a  further  opportunity  for  the  Colony  to  comply  with 
the  requisitions  of  the  crown.  His  success  did  not 
fulfil  the  expectations  of  the  colonists ;  who  were 
ever  too  apt  to  expect  impossibilities  of  their  agents, 
and  to  attribute  to  timidity,  or  time-serving,  a  failure 
to  obtain  a  recognition  of  their  cherished  principles 
of  construction  of  the  first  charter  of  the  Colony, 
notwithstanding  some  of  them  were  obviously  incom- 
patible with  the  relations  of  a  colony  to  a  parent 
state.  The  claims  of  the  sovereign  to  unqualified 
obedience,  and  those  of  the  colonists  to  at  least  a 
qualified  independence,  were  the  source  of  controver- 


174  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  sies,  which  no  agents  could  reconcile,  and  the  occa- 

IX. 

— —  sion  of  that  unpopularity,  which  invariably  followed 
the  return  of  all  the  agents  sent  to  England  during 
the  first  charter.  Their  residence  in  that  country 
compelled  them  to  take  views  of  the  reciprocal  rela- 
tions of  Great  Britain  and  Massachusetts,  to  which 
the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  were  wholly  unwilling 
to  accede.  The  statement  of  these  views  was  re- 
ceived by  the  people  as  indicative  of  changes  pro- 
duced by  the  influence  of  the  British  cabinet,  and 
was  often  attributed  to  selfish  motives.  Early  in  his 
agency  Stoughton  had  remonstrated  by  letters  with 
some  freedom  on  the  neglect,  by  the  colonists,  of 
the  acts  of  navigation,  and  had  ventured  to  intimate, 
that,  "  without  a  fair  compliance  in  that  matter, 
nothing  could  be  expected  but  a  total  breach  and 
storms  of  displeasure."  His  urgency  produced  an 
order  for  the  faithful  obedience  to  those  acts.  Not- 
withstanding which  they  remained  afterwards  little 
more  than  a  dead  letter  on  the  statute  book.  His 
conduct  in  this,  and  in  some  other  respects,  did  not 
coincide  with  the  interests  and  prejudices  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  consequently  gained  him  little  popularity. 
On  his  return,  he  received  no  marks  of  disapprobation 
from  the  General  Court,  but,  on  the  contrary,  their 
thanks  for  his  services.  A  deep  and  ill-concealed  dis- 
satisfaction, however,  existed,  on  account  of  the  result 
of  his  agency ;  and  he  became  obnoxious  to  jealousy 
and  censure.  Of  this  he  was  well  apprized  ;  and  when, 
at  a  subsequent  period,  a  like  mission  was  offered  to 
him,  he  utterly  declined  it.  The  evidences  he  soon 
received  of  the  confidence  of  the  British  monarch 
confirmed  the  opinion  of  those,  who  were  disposed  to 
believe,  that,  like  his  friend  Joseph  Dudley,  he  had 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  175 

in  Europe  been  less  active  in  defending  colonial  rights  CHAPTER 

TY 

than  in  conciliating  court  favor.  Like  him,  he  was  - 
reckoned  among  those,  who  were  in  favor  of  surren- 
dering the  old  charter,  in  preference  to  taking  the 
chance  of  a  quo  warranto.  In  1683  he  was  appointed 
by  the  crown  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  inquire 
into  the  titles  in  the  Narraganset  country,  and,  in 
1686,  on  the  seizure  of  the  government  of  the  coun- 
try by  the  King,  he  was  selected,  next  to  Dudley,  as 
one  of  the  Council  of  the  Colony.  These  appoint- 
ments were  deemed  rewards,  and,  in  the  violence  of 
the  party  feelings  of  the  time,  he  was  considered  as 
one  of  those  politicians,  who  change  their  principles 
with  times,  and  shift  their  sails  so  as  to  catch  every 
favorable  breeze.  Nor  do  these  suspicions  seem  to 
have  been  wholly  without  foundation ;  since  Edward 
Randolph  thus  draws  his  character  in  1686.  "Mr. 
Stoughton  is  inclined  to  the  Non-conformist  ministers, 
yet  stands  right  to  his  Majesty's  interests."  * 

The  course  of  Stoughton  had  been  cautious,  if  not 
timid.  With  Dudley  he  had  been  associated,  very 
intimately,  both  in  policy  and  friendship.!  The  de- 
gree to  which  this  extended  is  strongly  evidenced  by 
the  fact,  that,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  state  of 
parties,  in  May,  1686,  Stoughton  had  been  elected  to 
the  magistracy,  and  Dudley  had  been  omitted,  the 
former  "  refused  to  serve,  out  of  complaisance  to  the 
latter."  He  was  probably  aware,  that  a  commission, 
appointing  Dudley  as  President  and  himself  as  Vice- 
President  of  the  Colony,  was  then  on  its  passage  from 
England.  This  arrived  before  the  end  of  the  same 


*  Hutch.  Coll.  of  Original  Papers,  p.  548. 

t  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  chap.  2.  pp.  206,  806,  815. 


176  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    month,    and   was   published.     Although   he   was   the 

IX' avowed  friend  and  confidant  of  Dudley,  and  shared 

in  the  honors  bestowed  on  that  politician,  yet  he  had 
the  address  to  make  the  people  believe  him  not  un- 
friendly to  the  civil  constitution  of  the  Colony.  To  the 
ecclesiastical  constitution  his  attachment  was  regarded 
as  sincere,  both  on  account  of  his  early  prejudices 
and  his  present  interest.  Dudley  in  vain  attempted 
to  gain  for  himself  a  similar  confidence.  In  the  crisis 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Colony,  during  the  administration 
of  Andros,  Stoughton  again  accepted  with  Dudley  a 
seat  in  the  Council.  But,  being  one  of  those  against 
whom  the  charge  was  made,  of  "  having  more  of  the 
willow  than  the  oak  in  his  constitution,"  he  did 
nothing  either  greatly  to  satisfy  or  greatly  to  dissatisfy 
the  popular  party.  In  the  rising  of  the  people,  at 
the  time  Andros  and  Dudley  were  imprisoned,  Stough- 
ton had  no  participation.  He  joined,  indeed,  Brad- 
street  and  the  other  magistrates,  on  the  18th  of  April, 
1689,  in  their  request  to  Andros  to  deliver  up  the  fort, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood.  His  name, 
however,  does  not  appear  among  those,  who,  on  the 
day  following,  formed  themselves  into  a  body,  under 
the  title  of  a  "  council  of  safety  of  the  people  and 
conservation  of  the  peace."  Nor  did  he  return  to 
take  a  share  in  any  of  the  administrations  that  inter- 
vened, until  the  arrival  of  the  charter  of  William  and 
Mary,  in  1692;  being  excluded  from  them  by  vote, 
in  consequence  of  his  having  accepted  the  office  of 
Assistant  under  Andros.* 

When,  under  this  charter,   Sir  William  Phips  re- 
ceived, by  the  nomination  of   Increase  Mather,  the 

*  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  chap.  3.  pp.  317,  337,  340. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  177 

appointment  of  Governor,  Stoughton  obtained  that  of    CHAPTER 

Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Province.     As  has  already  '. 

been  stated,  he  was  probably  indebted  for  this  eleva- 
tion to  the  assurance  given  by  Cotton  Mather,*  that 
he  "  was  ready  to  make  amends  for  all  his  mis- 
carriages," and  to  the  knowledge  Increase  Mather 
possessed,  that  his  appointment  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  clergy. 

To  the  same  influence  may  be  attributed  the 
lamentable  distinction  he  attained  by  his  appointment 
as  Chief  Justice  in  the  special  commission  issued  for 
the  trial  of  those  confined  on  charges  of  witchcraft, 
at  the  time  of  the  excitement,  called  "  the  Salem 
delusion."  If  it  were  possible,  it  would  be  grateful 
to  throw  the  mantle  of  oblivion  over  the  part  acted 
by  Stoughton  in  that  tragedy.  But  the  stern  law  of 
history  does  not  permit.  The  high  station  he  held  for 
so  many  years  in  the  Province,  as  commander-in- 
chief ;  the  acceptable  manner  in  which  he  conducted 
himself  in  this  office;  his  popularity  with  the  clergy, 
the  chief  eulogists  and  historians  of  that  time  ;  his 
noble  donation  to  Harvard  College ;  above  all,  the 
number,  among  the  most  influential  in  every  rank  and 
profession,  implicated  as  actors,  or  as  applauding  or  ac- 
quiescing witnesses,  of  that  appalling  drama,  have  been 
the  occasion  of  less  strictness  of  investigation,  and  a 
more  politic  tenderness  of  statement,  than  are  due  to 
truth  or  justice.  There  is  no  class  of  public  men, 
towards  whom  history  should  be  more  inexorably 
severe  than  to  those,  who,  through  fear,  passion,  or 
policy,  lend  themselves  to  popular  excitements,  and 
become  panders  or  instruments  of  the  gross  desires, 

*  See  above,  p.  61. 

VOL.  i.  23 


178  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   wayward   humors,    or   furious    rage    of   a    multitude. 

— — —  The  truth,  painful  as  it  is,  cannot  be  concealed.  On 
no  individual  does  the  responsibility  of  the  sad  con- 
summation of  that  excitement  rest  more  heavily  than 
on  William  Stoughton.  Cotton  Mather  may  have  had 
more  agency  in  its  origin  and  progress ;  but  the  coun- 
tenance it  received  from  the  court  of  justice  gave 
vitality  to  the  epidemic  rage,  and  deprived  innocence 
of  its  security,  and  terminated  the  cruel  tragedy  in 
blood. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  1692,  Sir  William  Phips 
arrived  in  Massachusetts,  bringing  with  him  his  own 
commission  as  Governor,  and  that  of  William  Stough- 
ton as  Lieutenant-Governor,  of  the  Province.*  Belief 
in  the  existence  of  witchcraft,  which  then  prevailed 
in  New  England,  was  apparently  held  by  no  one  with 
more  solemn  conviction  than  by  Stoughton.  This 
rendered  him  less  qualified  to  hold,  and,  it  is  prob- 
able, the  more  anxious  to  obtain,  a  seat  on  the  bench 
of  justice.  He  was,  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  one 
of  the  constitutional  advisers  of  Phips,  and  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  that  the  idea  of  a  special  court  to 
try  the  accused,  if  it  did  not  originate  with  him, 
had  at  least  his  entire  concurrence ;  and  the  office  of 
Chief  Justice  in  that  commission,  if  he  did  not  seek, 
he  certainly  accepted.  The  union  of  the  office  of 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  Chief  Justice  in  the  person 
of  Stoughton  was  calculated  to  give  a  weight  to  his 
opinion  altogether  conclusive.  In  eighteen  days  after 
he  received  his  commission  as  Lieutenant-Governor 
from  the  crown,  he  took  that  of  Chief  Justice  under 

*  Hutch.  Hist,  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  p.  367;  Vol.  II.  p.  19.  — More 
Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World,  by  Robert  Calef,  p.  214. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  179 

this    special    commission    from    Governor    Phips,    and   CHAPTER 

proceeded  to  open  a  court  by  virtue  of  it,  under  a ! — 

charter,  which  gave  the  power  of  constituting  courts 
exclusively  to  the  legislature  ;  the  appointing  and  com- 
missioning of  the  justices  and  commissioners  of  courts, 
established  by  the  legislature,  being  the  extent  of 
the  Governor's  power  under  the  charter.  Scruples 
of  that  kind  did  not  affect  Stoughton  and  the  other 
judges  appointed  in  that  commission.  Under  an 
authority  thus,,  at  least,  questionable,  a  court  was 
suddenly  organized.  It  proceeded  hastily  towards 
judgment,  and  before  the  ensuing  October,  for  this 
imaginary  crime  of  witchcraft,  swept  Massachusetts 
with  that  desolating  besom,  miscalled  "  judicial  de- 
cision "  ;  the  effects  of  which  have  been  already  enu- 
merated. * 

The  degree  to  which  his  infatuation  extended,  and 
his  cooperation  with  Cotton  Mather's  popular  appeals, 
in  support  of  the  proceedings  of  his  court,  belong  to 
general  history,  and  may  be  omitted  in  a  work,  which, 
as  far  as  truth  and  duty  permit,  would  touch  no  other 
chord  than  that  which  vibrates  gratitude  to  William 
Stoughton. 

Strange  as  at  this  day  it  appears,  his  conduct  in 
relation  to  these  trials  for  witchcraft  detracted  nothing 
from  his  popularity.  He  was  chosen  Assistant,  though 
Lieutenant-Governor,  "  so  agreeable  was  he  to  the 
people. "f  Notwithstanding  Stoughton  always  was, 
in  heart,  attached  to  Joseph  Dudley  and  his  party,  yet 
he  succeeded  in  retaining  his  popularity  from  the  time 
of  the  departure  of  Governor  Phips,  in  1694,  to  the 
coming  of  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  in  May,  1699. 

*  See  above,  p.  64.          f  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  II.  ch.  I.  p.  70. 


180  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        The  difficulties  with  the    Indians  and  the  French 

IX 

— —  kept  the  attention  of  the  people  directed  towards  their 

external  relations,  and  no  controversy  occurred  be- 
tween the  Executive  and  the  other  branches  of  the 
legislature.  So  that  the  prejudices,  which  his  con- 
nexion with  Andros  and  Dudley  had  excited  against 
him,  gradually  subsided ;  and  the  whole  course  of  his 
administration  in  the  office  of  Commander-in-chief  was 
acceptable  to  the  Province. 

In  March,  1698,  Stoughton  first  intimated  his  design 
of  erecting  an  additional  building  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  students  of  Harvard  College,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Corporation  was  appointed  "  to  treat  on 
that  subject  concerning  which  he  had  made  proposals." 
The  records  of  the  Corporation  contain  no  further 
account  of  proceedings  on  this  offer.  The  building 
was  erected,  and  the  Donation  Book  of  the  University 
shows,  that  the  cost  was  one  thousand  pounds,  Massa- 
chusetts currency;  but,  as  those  records  many  years 
afterwards  state,  "  being  an  unsubstantial  piece  of 
masonry,"  it  grew  weak  with  age,  and,  after  many 
repairs,  was  taken  down  in  1780. 

Part  of  the  income  of  Stoughton  Hall,  and  the  rents 
of  twenty-seven  acres  of  land  in  the  town  of  Dor- 
chester, bequeathed  by  him  to  the  College,  were 
appropriated  by  his  last  will  for  the  benefit  of  "a  scholar 
of  the  town  of  Dorchester ;  and,  if  there  be  none  such, 
then  of  the  town  of  Milton  ;  and,  in  want  of  such, 
then  to  any  well  deserving,  that  shall  be  most  needy." 
The  income  from  the  land  remains  active  and  bene- 
ficial at  the  present  day. 

In  the  year  1806  a  substantial  brick  building  being 
erected  by  the  Corporation,  the  name  of  Stoughton 
was  given  to  it ;  a  suitable  acknowledgment  for  his 
bounty  and  proved  affection  for  the  institution. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  181 


Henry  Webb  is   another  benefactor  of  this    early   CHAPTER 

IX 

period,  of  whom,  however,  time  has  left  few  memorials.  '. — 

It  is  only  known,  that  he  was  a  merchant  of  great  Webb. 
wealth,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  time,  of  sagac- 
ity in  business,  and  no  less  distinguished  for  his  charities 
than  for  his  opulence.  He  bequeathed  to  the  College 
a  house  and  land  in  Cornhill,  now  a  part  of  Washing- 
ton Street,  in  Boston,  valuable  at  all  times  from  its 
locality,  still  retained  by  the  institution,  and  one  of  the 
most  productive  portions  of  its  real  estate ;  to  which 
he  added  a  legacy  of  fifty  pounds,  the  income  and 
interest  "  to  be  improved  either  for  the  maintenance 
of  some  poor  scholar,  or  otherwise  for  the  best  good 
of  the  College." 

Among  the  benefactors  of  this  period,  the  name  of 
Brown  is  honorably  recorded.  William  Brown  was 
the  ancestor  of  a  family  distinguished  in  the  succeed- 
ing age  for  munificence  and  public  spirit.  He  emi- 
grated from  England  in  1635,  became  a  merchant  in 
Salem,  where  he  was  eminent  for  his  exemplary  life 
and  his  public  charities.  In  1673  he  paid  one  tenth 
part  of  the  cost  of  a  church  erected  in  that  town,  and 
at  his  death  left  valuable  bequests  to  the  schools  of 
Salem  and  Charlestown,  besides  large  sums  for  pious 
uses.  During  his  lifetime  he  contributed  liberally  to 
the  support  of  the  College,  and  by  his  last  will  be- 
queathed one  hundred  pounds  for  the  benefit  of  poor 
and  meritorious  students. 

John  Bulkley,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1642,  the 

ley. 

first  which  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  deserves 
respectful  remembrance  among  our  earliest  benefac- 
tors. In  the  year  1645,  he  executed  a  deed  of  about 
an  acre  of  valuable  land,  now  owned  by  the  College, 
and  situated  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  town  of  Cam- 


182  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    bridge.     It  is  the  earliest  conveyance  on  the  records 

! —  of    the    College,    is   in    Latin,   and  on    that   account 

curious.  It  is  also  interesting  for  the  affection  it  in- 
dicates for  President  Dunster,  and  for  the  College. 
He  characterizes  himself  as  "  nuper  studens  Collegii 
Harvardini"  gives  the  occupation  of  the  land  during 
life  to  Henry  Dunster,  "  utpote  eidem  ob  plurima  atque 
ampla  accepta  beneficia  devinctissimus."  In  case  of  his 
death  or  resignation,  he  thus  directs  the  course  of  his 
bequest ;  "  Turn  velim  ut  Collegium,  tanquam  ASTTZW 
tenue  ab  alumno  maxime  benevolo,  sibi  in  perpetuum 
appropriaret."*  After  paying  this  affectionate  and  valu- 
able tribute  to  his  literary  parent,  he  left  America,  and 
settled  in  the  ministry  in  England ;  preaching  to  good 
acceptance,  until  he  was  ejected  for  non-conformity. 
He  then  studied  medicine,!  became  duly  qualified  as 
a  physician,  and  practised  with  success  in  the  suburbs 
of  London. 

Lady  Among  the  early  transatlantic  benefactors  of  Har- 

vard College,  Lady  Moulson,  Sir  Matthew  Holworthy, 
and  Theophilus  Gale,  were  chiefly  distinguished. 

Of  Lady  Moulson  nothing  is  known,  except  that 
she  was  among  the  earliest  of  this  class  of  benefactors, 
that  she  contributed  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  for 
the  College,  and  paid  the  amount  over  to  Welde  and 
Peters,  the  agents  of  the  Colony  in  Great  Britain. 
It  appears,  by  the  records  of  the  Governors  of  the 
College,  that  her  gift  was  known  in  this  country  as 
early  as  December,  1643,  but  that  it  was  not  at  that 
time  received.  Welde  and  Peters  settled  for  this 
amount,  and  for  sums  given  also  by  others,  with  the 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXII. 

t  Savage's    Winthrop,   Vol.    II.    p.    240.  —  Calamy's    Account   of 
Ejected  Ministers,  Vol.  II.  pp.  811,  312. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  183 


General   Court ;  who  kept  it  in  their   treasury,   arid   CHAPTER 

voted  to  allow  for  it  to  the  College  an  annuity  of  about  '. — 

fifteen  pounds  per  annum.  Fortunately  for  the  Col- 
lege, Lady  Moulson  had  taken  a  bond  of  Welde,  that 
the  money  should  not  be  diverted  from  the  charitable 
objects  to  which  she  had  devoted  it.  For  in  1655, 
on  a  petition  of  the  College  for  relief,  in  a  state  of 
great  distress  on  account  of  the  insufficiency  of  their 
buildings,  the  House  of  Deputies  ordered  the  amount 
due  on  account  of  her  gift  to  be  "  improved  for  "  the 
repairs  of  those  edifices.  This  vote  the  magistrates 
non-concurred  in,  "  because  the  amount  was  given  by 
the  Lady  Moulson  and  others  for  scholarships,  annually 
to  be  maintained  there,  which  this  Court  cannot  alter, 
and  therefore  desire  their  brethren,  the  Deputies,  to 
consider  of  some  meet  way  for  the  repairing  of  the 
College  ;  "  *  an  instance  of  self-control,  and  of  the 
acknowledgment  of  restraint  by  principle,  as  honor- 
able as  it  is  exemplary. 

After  considerable  research,  little  has  been  discov-  sirMat- 

/•ci'iiTi  ^ew  Hol- 

ered  concerning  the  life  and  fortunes  of  Sir  Matthew  worthy. 
Holworthy.  It  is  ascertained,  that  he  was  a  merchant 
of  Hackney,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  that  he  was 
knighted  by  Charles  the  Second  in  1665,  possessed 
great  wealth,  was  distinguished  for  charity  and  piety, 
and  that  he  died  in  1678. 

His  bequest  to  the  College  was  the  largest  pecuniary 
gift  it  received  during  the  seventeenth  century.  His 
bounty  was  wise  in  its  form  and  noble  in  its  nature ; 
expressed  in  terms  the  most  useful,  because  the  most 
unrestricted.  He  made  the  amount  applicable  at  once 
to  the  wants  of  the  institution,  by  placing  it  at  the 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  II. 


184  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  immediate  control  of  its  governors,  indicating  a  con- 

_! fidence  in  them,   and  an    elevated   spirit  in    himself, 

free  from  all  selfish  and  ambitious  views.  The  sim- 
plicity and  directness  of  his  language  deserves  to  be 
preserved  both  as  an  honor  and  an  example. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  the  College  or  Uni- 
versity in  or  of  Cambridge,  in  New  England,  the  sum  of 
one  thousand  pounds  (sterling),  to  be  paid  over  to  the 
Governors  and  Directors  thereof,  to  be  disposed  of  by 
them  as  they  shall  judge  best  for  promoting  of  learning 
and  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  in  those  parts;  the 
same  to  be  paid  within  two  years  after  my  decease." 
The  character  as  well  as  the  amount  of  this  dona- 
tion entitled  him  to  the  distinction  which  his  name 
received  in  the  year  1812,  when  it  was  given  to  the 
Hall  then  erected  by  the  University ;  as  well  as  to 
the  just  tribute  paid  to  his  memory  by  President 
Kirkland,  in  an  address  on  laying  the  foundation  of 
Hoi  worthy  Hall ;  who,  after  stating  that  little  was 
known  of  this  benefactor,  observes,  "  We  have  evi- 
dence, however,  that  he  was  one  of  those  generous 
spirits,  who  are  interested  in  human  nature  and  human 
happiness  wherever  found.  He  extended  his  solicitude 
to  this  seminary,  then  obscure  and  little  considered  by 
the  wrorld,  and  capable  of  adding  little  to  the  character 
of  its  benefactors,  and  contributed  a  bounty  which  did 
much  to  rear  it  to  a  manly  strength."* 
TheopMius  Theophilus  Gale,f  dying;  in  1677,  devoted  his  whole 

Gale. 

estate,  real  and  personal,  to  the  advancement  of  edu- 


*  President  Kirkland's  Address  on  laying  the  Foundation  of  Hoi- 
worthy  Hall.  Corporation  Records,  August  18th,  1812. 

t  Wilson's  History  of  the  Dissenting  Churches,  Vol.  III.  p.  163. 
London  Edit.  1810.  —  Wood's  Athenae  Oxonienses,  Vol.  III.  p.  1149. 
London  Edit.  1820.  —  Mather's  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  Part  I. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  185 

cation  and  the   promotion  of  learning.     His   library,   CHAPTER 

one  of  the  most  select  and  valuable  in  the  possession 

of  a  private  individual  in  that  day,  he  bequeathed  to 
Harvard  College ;  and  it  constituted  for  many  years 
more  than  half  of  the  whole  College  Library.  This 
divine  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his 
time  ;  being  justly  admired  for  his  reasoning  powers, 
his  learning,  and  his  piety.  He  was  a  philologist,  a 
philosopher,  and  a  theologian.  His  writings,  which 
were  numerous  and  highly  esteemed,  "  spread  his 
fame,"  says  his  biographer,  "throughout Europe."  The 
fact  presents  a  striking  and  instructive  lesson.  Where 
is  that  voice  which  once  filled  Europe  with  his  name  ? 
It  is  silent.  Where  those  glories,  which  assured  per- 
petuity to  his  memory  ?  What  coruscations  of  genius 
now  emblazon  his  fame  ?  Alas  !  they  are  lost  in  the 
lapse  of  years ;  overpowered  and  obscured  by  nearer 
and  more  recent  radiance.  It  is  not  his  learning  nor  his 
private  labors,  the  acuteness  of  his  controversial  nor 
the  ceaseless  activity  of  his  intellectual  powers,  which 
lead  the  sons  of  Harvard,  on  days  of  solemn  com- 
memoration, to  dwell  with  gratitude  on  his  memory ; 
but  a  well-directed  and  well-devised  charity,  confirm- 
ing the  declaration  of  Scripture,  that,  to  effect  an 
enduring  remembrance,  "  charity  is  better  than  to 
have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  or  to  understand  all  myste- 
ries and  all  knowledge." 

William  Pennoyer  and  Robert  Thorner,  among  our 
early  benefactors,  are  next  deserving  grateful  recog- 
nition. Both  were  English  gentlemen  of  fortune, 
patrons  of  science,  and  eminent  for  their  deep  religious 
affections.  But  little  is  known  of  the  life  and  for- 
tunes of  either.  The  former  was  one  of  the  first  wniiam 
to  establish  a  permanent  fund  for  those  periodical 

VOL.  i.  24 


186  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  distributions  of  money  to  indigent  students,  called 

"' "Exhibitions."  By  his  will,  dated  in  May,  1670, 

he  constituted  a  rent  charge  upon  an  estate  in  the 
county  of  Norfolk,  in  England,  of  forty-four  pounds 
per  annum,  for  ever ;  of  which  sum  thirty-four  pounds 
were  appropriated  "  for  the  education  of  two  fellows 
and  two  scholars,  for  ever,  in  the  College  called 
Cambridge,  in  New  England." 

Robert  Robert  Thorner  was  also  one  of  our  noblest  as  well 

Thorner. 

as  earliest  benefactors.  By  his  will,  dated  on  the  31st 
of  May,  1690,  he  gave  to  Harvard  College  five  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling,  to  be  paid  after  the  expiration 
of  certain  specified  leases.  This  contingency  did  not 
occur  until  more  than  seventy  years  had  elapsed. 
Then  the  legacy  was  punctually  paid  by  the  trustees 
appointed  under  his  will.  Thorner  was  a  maternal 
uncle  of  Thomas  Hollis ;  and,  by  appointing  him  one 
of  those  trustees,  he  introduced  Harvard  College  to 
the  knowledge  and  notice  of  the  greatest  of  its  early 
patrons,  and  became  the  cause,  as  well  as  precur- 
sor, of  the  rising  upon  our  horizon  of  that  constella- 
tion of  benefactors  bearing  the  name  of  Hollis  ;  the 
number  and  the  value  of  whose  bounties  it  will  be  the 
duty  of  this  history  hereafter  to  record. 

otherbene-  To  these  benefactors  are  to  be  added  Sir  Kenelm 
Digby,  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  Sir  Henry  Ashurst,  Ser- 
geant Maynard,  and  John  Dodderidge  ;  men  distin- 
guished in  their  age  and  country,  for  their  virtues,  their 
religious  and  literary  zeal,  and  the  diffusiveness  of 
their  benevolence.  Conjoined  with  these  in  the  spirit 
of  kindness  for  our  institution,  there  exist  on  its 
records,  names  of  benefactors,*  of  whom  nothing  is 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIII. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  187 

now  known,  except  the  example  and  the  blessing  of    CHAPTER 

their  bounty  ;    men,   possessing  in  large  measure  the  ! — . 

spirit  of  charity,  but  limited  in  its  exercise  by  the 
scantiness  of  their  fortunes ;  yet,  giving  according  to 
their  mediocrity  or  poverty,  they  are  to  be  cherished 
with  a  veneration  and  affection  as  deep  and  sincere, 
as  the  memory  of  those  who  have  given  us  of  their 
abundance. 

Among  our  earliest  benefactors,  "  Joseph  Glover,"  Joseph 

9  Glover. 

and  "  some  gentlemen  of  Amsterdam,"  deserve  no- 
tice, not  so  much  from  the  amount  as  from  the  nature 
and  consequences  of  their  respective  benefactions. 
That  of  the  former  was  a  "  font  of  printing  letters," 
and  that  of  the  latter  was  "  forty-nine  pounds  and 
something  more  towards  furnishing  of  a  printing  press 
with  letters."  Both  are  recorded  in  the  Donation 
Book  of  the  College  as  occurring  in  1642,  and  are 
worthy  of  memory,  as  connected  with  "  the  first  print- 
ing press  established  north  of  Mexico,  and  which  for 
many  years  continued  to  be  the  only  one  in  British 
America."* 

This  press  Glover  was  bringing  with  him  to  New  Printing 
England  in  1638,  but  died  on  his  passage.  His  widow, 
being  possessed  of  considerable  property,  purchased 
an  estate  in  Cambridge,  and  settled  there.  The  press 
was  set  up  in  this  town  in  1639,*  under  the  auspices 
of  the  magistrates  and  elders ;  Stephen  Daye,  who 
had  been  brought  over  by  Glover  for  this  purpose, 
being  the  first  printer.  Jt  was  regarded  as  a  public 
concern.  President  Dunster,  who  married  the  widow 
of  Mr.  Glover,  had  the  management  of  it  in  right  of 


*  See  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.j  p.  6.  —  Felt's  Annals  of  Salem, 
p.  120.  — Thomas's  History  of  Printing,  Vol.  I.  pp.  203,  224,231. 


188  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   his  wife  and  as  President  of  the  College.     It  was  at 

TV 

first  placed  in  the  President's  house,  where  it  re- 
mained until  the  year  1655.*  Its  profits  were  small, 
but  constituted  a  part  of  the  revenues  of  the  College. 
The  President  superintended  and  was  deemed  re- 
sponsible for  its  publications.  The  first  of  these  was 
"  The  Freeman's  Oath."  To  this  succeeded  an 
Almanac,  a  Psalm  Book,  a  Catechism,  the  body  of 
Liberties  and  Laws  of  the  Colony.  To  works  of 
this  character  it  was  confined  while  under  the  su- 
pervision of  Dunster.  In  1654  it  was  taken  into 
the  service  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Col- 
onies, had  its  types  and  resources  greatly  enlarged 
by  the  Corporation  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among 
the  Indians ;  and  in  1658  commenced  the  publica- 
tion of  that  extraordinary  result  of  persevering  in- 
dustry and  pious  zeal,  "  The  Bible  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Indian  Language,  by  John  Eliot."  In  1662 
the  jealousy  of  the  clergy  and  magistrates  was  ex- 
cited by  some  religious  treatises  it  published,  and  it 
was  subjected  to  a  board  of  licensers,  of  which,  in 
1 664,  the  President  of  the  College  was  placed  at  the 
head.  It  attained  success  and  celebrity,  to  which  its 
connexion  with  the  College,  and  the  influence  ex- 
erted over  it  by  its  governors,  greatly  contributed. 

Discipline         Touching  discipline,  the  course  of  studies,  and  the 

and  course  ° 

of  study.  nature  and  efficiency  of  literary  instruction,  in  the  Col- 
lege during  the  seventeenth  century,  our  means  of  in- 
formation are  limited  and  unsatisfactory.  Its  discipline, 
unquestionably,  partook  of  the  austerity  of  the  period, 
and  was  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  the  early 
emigrants.!  Tradition  represents  it  to  have  been  se- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  I.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIV. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  189 


IX. 


vere,  and  corporal  punishments  to  have  been  among  CHAPTER 
the  customary  sanctions  of  College  laws.  The  im- 
mediate government  kept  no  record  of  their  proceed- 
ings. The  tutors  chastised  at  discretion,  and  on  very 
solemn  occasions  the  Overseers  were  called  together, 
either  to  authorize  or  to  witness  the  execution  of  the 
severer  punishments.  Judge  Sewall,  in  his  Diary, 
relates  an  instance  of  the  mode  in  which  these  were 
inflicted,  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  age,  and  of 
the  discipline  of  the  College.  It  occurred  in  1674. 
The  offence  was  "speaking  blasphemous  words."  After 
examination  by  the  Corporation,  the  offence  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  Overseers  for  advisement.  The  offender 
was  sentenced  to  be  "  publicly  whipped  before  all  the 
scholars,"  to  be  "  suspended  from  taking  his  bachelor's 
degree,"  and  "  to  sit  alone  by  himself  uncovered  at 
meals  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows," to  be  obedient  in  all  things,  and,  in  default,  to 
be  finally  expelled  from  the  College.  The  execution 
of  the  sentence  was  no  less  characteristic  than  its 
nature.  It  w^as  twice  read  publicly  in  the  Library,  in 
the  presence  of  all  the  scholars,  the  government,  and 
such  of  the  Overseers  as  chose  to  attend.  The  of- 
fender having  kneeled,  the  President  prayed,  after 
which  the  corporal  punishment  was  inflicted  ;  and  the 
solemnities  were  closed  by  another  prayer  from  the 
President.*  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose,  that  there 
was  any  thing  revolting  in  this,  either  to  the  opinions 
or  the  feelings  of  the  age  or  country.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  in  strict  accordance  with  the  habits  and 
general  notions  of  discipline  prevalent  at  the  period. 
These  formal  inflictions  gradually  grew  out  of  use  ; 

*  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.3  p.  227. 


190  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

but  more  than  a  century  elapsed  after  the  foundation 

TV 

! —  of  the  College,  before  corporal  punishments  were  ob- 
literated from  its  code. 

As  early  as  1659,  "the  exorbitant  practices  of  some 
students,"  and  their  abuse  of  the  "  town  watch," 
occasioned  an  order  of  the  Corporation,  recognising 
the  subjection  of  the  students  to  the  law  of  the  land, 
and  providing  the  manner  and  limitations  under  which 
the  watch  of  the  town  should  exercise  their  usual 
power  and  authority  within  the  precincts  of  the  Col- 
lege.* And  in  1682  the  civil  arm  was  formally  recog- 
nised as  the  last  resort  for  enforcing,  in  extreme  cases, 
its  discipline.! 

A  document,  purporting  to  be  the  "  Laws,  Liberties, 
and  Orders  of  Harvard  College,"  confirmed  by  the 
President  and  Overseers,!  gives  the  best  evidence  now 
extant,  of  the  early  principles  and  requisitions  of  the 
College  laws ;  as  do  also  the  Orders  of  the  Overseers, 
in  1 650,^  of  their  progress  and  mode  of  enforcement. 

In  relation  to  the  course  of  studies,  and  the  degree 
of  literary  instruction  in  the  seminary  during  this 
period,  little  exact  and  authentic  information  exists. 
"  So  much  Latin  as  was  sufficient  to  understand  Tully, 
or  any  like  classical  author,  and  to  make  and  speak 
true  Latin,  in  prose  and  verse,  and  so  much  Greek  as 
was  included  in  declining  perfectly  the  paradigms  of 
the  Greek  nouns  and  verbs,"  were  the  chief,  if  not 
the  only  requisites  for  admission.  The  exercises  of 
the  students  had  the  aspect  of  a  theological  rather 
than  a  literary  institution.  They  were  practised  twice 
a  day  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  giving  an  account  of 
their  proficiency  and  experience  in  practical  and  spirit- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXV.  f  Ibid.,  No.  XXVI. 

t  Ibid.,  No.  XXVII.  §  Ibid.,  No.  XXVIII. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  191 

ual    truths,    accompanied    by  theoretical   observations   CHAPTER 

on  the  language,  *  and  logic,  of  the  sacred  writings.  ! . 

They  were  carefully  to  attend  God's  ordinances,  and 
be  examined  on  their  profiting  ;  commonplacing  the 
sermons  and  repeating  them  publicly  in  the  hall.  The 
studies  of  the  first  year  were  "  logic,  physics,  etymol- 
ogy, syntax,  and  practice  on  the  principles  of  gram- 
mar." Those  of  the  second  year,  "  ethics,  politics, 
prosody  and  dialects,  practice  of  poesy,  and  Chaldee." 
Those  of  the  third,  "  arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy, 
exercises  in  style,  composition,  epitome,  both  in  prose 
and  verse,  Hebrew,  and  Syriac." 

In  every  year  and  every  week  of  the  College  course, 
every  class  was  practised  in  the  Bible  and  catechetical 
divinity ;  also  in  history  in  the  winter,  and  in  the  na- 
ture of  plants  in  the  summer.  Rhetoric  was  taught 
by  lectures  in  every  year,  and  each  student  was  re- 
quired to  declaim  once  a  month. 

Suchf  were  the  principles  of  education  established 
in  the  College  under  the  authority  of  Dunster.  Nor 
does  it  appear,  that  they  were  materially  changed 
during  the  whole  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Im- 
provements were  introduced  but  gradually,  and  neither 
their  date  nor  their  particulars  are  anywhere  distinctly 
stated  in  the  College  records. 

An  early,  systematic  attempt  to  extend  the  advan- 
tages of  a  liberal  education  to  the  aboriginals  was 
made  by  the  first  settlers  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
vicinity  of  Harvard  College,  and  under  the  auspices 
of  its  governors.  Preparatory  instruction  in  Greek, 
Latin,  and  English,  was  provided,  an  Indian  Cate- 


*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  I.  p.  243. 
f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVII.  and  No.  XXVIII. 


192  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  chism,  Grammar,  and  various  religious  tracts  in  that  lan- 
'  guage  were  printed,  and  an  Indian  College  was  erected, 
chiefly  by  funds  furnished  by  the  Society  for  propa- 
gating the  Gospel  among  the  Indians.  Daniel  Gookin, 
the  active  and  earnest  associate  of  Eliot  in  civilizing 
the  Indians,  thus  speaks  concerning  the  project  and 
the  result.  "  The  design  was  prudent,  noble,  and 
good,  but  it  proved  ineffectual."*  Some  of  the  schol- 
ars died.  Some,  after  making  good  proficiency,  grew 
disheartened,  and  returned  to  their  native  haunts.  A 
few  became  schoolmasters  and  mechanics  among  the 
natives.  Those,  who  persevered  fell  victims,  to  con- 
sumption, the  effect  of  the  "  change  of  diet,  lodging, 
apparel,  and  studies."  A  single  individual,  "  Caleb 
Cheeshahteaumuck,  Indus,"  stands  alone  on  the  Cata- 
logue of  the  graduates  of  Harvard  College ;  the  only 
representative  of  the  native  tribes. 

The  number  of  students  graduated  at  the  College 
from  its  foundation  to  the  presidency  of  Leverett,  was 
five  hundred  and  thirty-one,  one  half  of  whom  became 
in  after  life  clergymen  ;  a  proportion  which  that  pro- 
fession had  maintained  through  the  whole  period. 

To  the  general  student,  and  such  as  were  not  des- 
tined to  "  the  work  of  the  ministry,"  the  exercises 
of  the  College  must  have  been  irksome,  and,  in  their 
estimation,  unprofitable.  The  reading  every  morning 
a  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  out  of  Hebrew  into 
Greek,  and  every  afternoon  a  portion  of  the  New 
Testament  out  of  English  into  Greek,  however  it 
might  improve  their  knowledge  of  those  languages 
respectively,  could  not  greatly  accelerate  or  enlarge 
their  acquaintance  with  Scripture,  or  tend  vividly  to 

*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  I.  p.  172. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  193 


IX. 


excite  their  piety.  The  exposition,  required  by  the  CHAPTER 
laws  of  the  College  to  be  made  by  the  President,  of 
the  chapters  read  at  the  morning  and  evening  services, 
although  greatly  lauded  for  its  utility,  and  made  the 
repeated  subject  of  inquiry  by  active  members  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers,  seems  not  to  have  been  of  any 
material  efficiency  in  point  of  instruction.  President 
Mather  himself,  as  we  have  seen  in  his  letter  to 
Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton,  characterizes  the 
students  as  "  forty  or  fifty  children,  few  of  them  capa- 
ble of  edification  by  such  exercises."  *  And  President 
Leverett,  when  assailed  for  neglect  of  it,  pointedly 
told  the  Board  of  Overseers,  that,  if  it  was  to  be 
continued,  he  must  be  "  supported  "  ;  f  indicating  dis- 
tinctly, by  this  expression,  that,  in  the  state  of 
society  to  which  the  country  had  advanced,  this  ex- 
ercise was  so  irksome  and  annoying  to  the  young  men, 
as  to  subject  him  to  disturbance  or  insult. 

At  a  period  when  Latin  was  the  common  in- 
strument of  communication  among  the  learned,  and 
the  official  language  of  statesmen,  great  attention  was 
naturally  paid  to  this  branch  of  education.  Accord- 
ingly, "  to  speak  true  Latin,  both  in  prose  and  verse," 
was  made  an  essential  requisite  for  admission.  Among 
the  "  laws  and  liberties  "  of  the  College  we  also  find 
the  following.  "  The  scholars  shall  never  use  their 
mother  tongue,  except  that,  in  public  exercises  of  ora- 
tory or  such  like,  they  be  called  to  make  them  in 
English."  This  law  appears  upon  the  records  of  the 
College  in  the  Latin  as  well  as  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. The  terms  in  the  former  are  indeed  less  re- 
strictive and  more  practical;  "  Scholares  vernacula 


*  See  above,  p.  96.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XL 

VOL.  i.  25 


194 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  lingua,  intra  Collegii  limites,  nullo  pretextu  utentur." 
'  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  those  educated  at  the 
College,  and  destined  for  the  learned  professions,  ac- 
quired an  adequate  acquaintance  with  the  Latin,  and 
those  destined  to  become  divines,  with  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew.  In  other  respects,  although  the  sphere  of 
instruction  was  limited,  it  was  sufficient  for  the  age 
and  country,  and  amply  supplied  all  their  purposes 
and  wants.  The  best  part  of  the  education  at  this 
College,  and  that  for  which  its  students  have,  in  every 
period  of  its  history,  been  distinguished,  was,  that 
they  were  taught,  according  to  the  language  of  Presi- 
dent Mather,  in  one  of  his  public  orations  on  Com- 
mencement day,  "  libere  philosophari,  et  in  nullius 
jurare  verba  magistri." 


STOUGHTON  HALL,  BUILT  IN  1700  ;  TAKEN  DOWN  IN  1780. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  195 


CHAPTER   X. 

Retrospect  of  political  and  religious  Parties.  —  Their  Relation  to  the 
College.  —  "  School  of  the  Church"  established  at  New  Haven. — 
Charter  drafted  by  Sewalland  Addington.  —  Views  of  Governor  Dud- 
ley, in  filling  up  the  Corporation.  —  Disappointment  of  the  Mathers. 

—  Their  Letters  to  Governor  Dudley.  —  Vigorous  Administration  of 
Leverett.  —  Recovers  the  Legacy  of  Hopkins,  and  of  Lady  Moulson. 

—  Death  of  Hobart.  —  Wadsvvorth  elected  Fellow  of  the  Corpora- 
tion.—  Death  of  Treasurer  Brattle.  —  John  White  elected  Treasurer. 

—  Death  of  the  Rev.  William  Brattle  and  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Pem- 
berton.  —  Election  of  Benjamin   Colman  and  Nathaniel  Appleton 
as  Fellows. 

To  attain    a  correct  understanding  of  the  contro     CHAPTER 

versies  which  occurred  during  the  presidency  of  Lev-  ___J 

erett,  it  will  be  useful  to  cast  a  retrospective  glance 
on  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  Massachu- 
setts. The  early  settlers  of  this  Province  emigrated, 
not  for  the  establishment  of  any  particular  tenets,  but 
for  the  enjoyment,  in  the  modes  of  worship  which 
they  deemed  evangelical,  of  those  points  of  faith,  in 
which,  generally  speaking,  they  all  agreed.  In  the 
form  of  government  they  established,  neither  subscrip- 
tion to  creeds,  nor  declaration  of  articles  of  belief, 
was  required.  Nor  were  they  necessary.  The  prin- 
ciple, that  none  should  be  a  freeman  of  the  State,  who 
was  not  a  member  of  the  Church,  sufficiently  secured 
the  supremacy  of  the  religious  opinions  of  the  pre- 
dominant party.  The  inquisitorial  power  was  vested 
in  the  church  and  its  officers.  The  State  thus  enjoyed 


196  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the   benefit  of  that  power,  without   the   obloquy   at- 


_  tached  to  its  exercise. 


Creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  were  equally  un- 
necessary in  the  foundation  of  the  College,  either  as 
a  condition  of  office,  or  of  obtaining  the  benefits  of  the 
institution.  The  magistrates  of  the  jurisdiction,  and 
the  elders  of  the  specified  congregational  churches, 
were  the  Overseers  of  the  College.  They  were  all 
necessarily  church  members,  and,  on  the  uniformity 
of  the  faith  of  the  churches,  they  relied  for  the  per- 
petuity of  religious  opinions,  which  they  deemed 
fundamental. 
state  of  re-  This  security,  however,  was  destroyed  by  the  char- 

hgious  and  J  '  J  J 

ter  of  William  and  Mary,  which  made  property, 
instead  of  church-membership,  the  qualification  for 
the  enjoyment  of  civil  rights.  During  the  first  forty 
years  after  this  charter  came  into  operation  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, violent  struggles  occurred,  inevitable  at 
all  times  in  states,  when  power  is  changing  hands, 
and  one  party  is  striving  to  seize  what  another  is 
striving  to  retain.  Political  controversy  was  active ; 
theological,  intense.  The  early  New  England  con- 
gregational church  having  lost  the  constitutional  se- 
curity and  power  it  originally  possessed  in  the  State 
and  the  College,  it  became  the  guiding  principle  of 
the  policy  of  the  clergy  of  that  sect,  in  the  succes- 
sive schemes  of  a  charter  for  the  College  during  Dr. 
Mather's  presidency,  so  to  arrange  its  powers  or  its 
principles  as  to  secure  the  institution  from  those  great 
changes  in  religious  opinions,  which  they  had  reason 
to  anticipate,  and  which  they  called  "  heresies." 

While  the  chair  of  state  was  occupied  in  succession 
by  Phips  and  Stoughton,  the  early  ecclesiastical  in- 
fluences were  paramount.  But  seceders  from  their 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  197 

religious  doctrines  increased  gradually  in  power  and  CHAPTER 

numbers.      A   natural   coalition    took   place    between  ' — 

them  and  the  adherents  to  the  Church  of  England, 
from  identity  of  interest  and  a  common  dislike  of 
the  predominating  religious  opinions.  Thus  Gover- 
nor Bellamont,  in  negativing  the  clause  relative  to 
religious  qualifications  in  the  College  charter  of  1699, 
was  actuated  by  a  perception  of  its  bearing  on  the 
members  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  yet  he  negatived, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  a  much  more  extensive  power, 
adapted  and  devised  to  exclude  all  from  government 
and  instruction  in  the  College,  who  seceded  from 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  as  espoused  and 
intended  by  the  first  settlers.  * 

In  1698,  when  that  secession  from  the  principles 
of  the  Cambridge  Platform  occurred,  which  eventu- 
ated in  the  foundation  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church 
in  Boston,  an  alarm  was  excited  among  all  those, 
who  claimed  for  themselves  the  character  of  exclu- 
sive representatives  of  the  religious  faith  of  the  fathers 
of  New  England.  This  alarm  was  increased,  when, 
in  the  course  of  events,  the  tutors  of  the  College 
were  reasonably  suspected  of  being  infected  with  this 
"  apostasy,"  as  it  was  studiously  denominated. 

The  first  settlers   of    Connecticut    had   emigrated  coiiegeat 
from  Massachusetts  for  the  purpose  of   being  under  founded. 
a  stricter  form  of  worship  than  they  could  here  at- 
tain.    A  desire  had  long  existed  in  that  Colony,  for 
the  establishment  in  it  of  a  "  school  of  the  prophets," 
constructed  with  reference  to  their  peculiar  religious 
views.     To  this  object  the  crisis  of  affairs  in  Massa- 
chusetts was   deemed  favorable,  and  measures   were 

*  See  above,  p.  101. 


198  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  adopted  for  founding  such  an  institution  in  the  neigh- 

' —  bourhood  of  New  Haven.     The  projectors  of  it  were 

aware  of  the  advantage  which  would  result  to  their 
seminary,  should  it  be  made  satisfactory  to  the  pre- 
dominant religious  party  in  Massachusetts,  and  es- 
pecially if  its  constitution  should  be  clear  and  fixed 
on  the  points  by  that  party  deemed  essential.  They 
took  their  measures  accordingly  with  promptness  and 
sagacity. 

Among  the  firmest  adherents  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
early  New  England  churches,  were  Sewall,  afterwards 
Chief  Justice,  and  Addington,  then  Secretary  of  State. 
They  were  both  statesmen  of  the  old  charter  cast,  in 
whom  the  characters  of  politician  and  theologian  were 
combined  in  nearly  equal  proportions.  Both  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  state  of  things  in  Harvard  College. 
Both  were  zealous  and  vigorous  defenders  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  early  Congregational  church.  To  these 
statesmen  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  applied  for  a  draft 
of  a  charter  for  their  proposed  institution ;  *  and  re- 
ceived from  them  an  instrument,  not  founded,  like  the 
charters  of  Harvard,  on  "  the  instituting,  guiding,  and 
furthering  of  the  said  College,  and  the  several  mem- 
bers thereof,  from  time  to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and 
learning,"  but  on  something  which  they,  doubtless, 
deemed  more  safe  and  scriptural,  "  the  reciting  me- 
moriter  the  *  Assembly's  Catechism,'  in  Latin,  Dr. 
Ames's  '  Medulla,'  and  also  his  '  Cases  of  Con- 
science,' accompanied  on  the  Sabbath  by  expositions 
of  practical  theology,  and  the  repeating  of  sermons  by 
the  undergraduates ;  and  on  week  days  by  reading  and 

*  Trumbull's  History  of  Connecticut,  Vol.  I.  pp.  500,  501. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  199 


x. 


expounding  the  Scriptures  according  to  the  laudable   CHAPTER 
order  and  usage  of  Harvard  College." 

Some  of  the  points  here  secured  were  undoubtedly 
introduced  by  Sewall  and  Addington,  on  account  of 
their  being  those,  from  which  they  apprehended  Har- 
vard College  to  be  in  a  state  of  declension.  The  last 
article,  although  inserted  in  avowed  coincidence  with 
the  "  order  and  usage  of  Harvard,"  was,  in  fact,  the 
one  to  which  Sewall  attached  the  highest  importance, 
and  about  which  he  was  most  solicitous.  A  neglect 
of  those  expositions,  notwithstanding  their  irksome- 
ness  and  doubtful  utility,  *  he  made,  a  few  years 
afterwards,  the  subject  of  a  direct  attack  on  Presi- 
dent Leverett. 

The  founders  of  the  College  in  Connecticut  adopted, 
without  any  material  alterations,  the  draft  made  by 
Sewall  and  Addington,  who,  in  an  accompanying 
letter,  did  not  fail  to  indicate  their  dissatisfaction 
with  the  state  of  things  at  Harvard  College,  by  say- 
ing, "  how  glad  we  were  to  hear  of  the  flourishing 
schools  and  colleges  of  Connecticut,  as  it  would  be 
some  relief  to  us  against  the  sorrow  we  have  conceived 
from  the  decay  of  them  in  this  Province."  f 

From  this  period  the  College  of  Connecticut  began 
to  be  deemed  by  the  stricter  sect  of  Calvinists  the 
strong-hold  of  their  opinions.  Their  favor  soon  be- 
came to  that  institution  an  element  of  worldly  pros- 
perity and  success ;  some  of  the  more  zealous  ad- 
herents to  those  doctrines,  who  were  sons  of  Harvard, 
taking  it  under  their  patronage,  soliciting  for  it  dona- 
tions, and  even  attempting  to  give  the  tide  of  indi- 

*  See  above,  p.  193.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIX. 


200  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   vidual  bounty,  which  was  flowing  towards  Cambridge, 


X 

— —  a  direction  towards  New  Haven. 


The  success  which  had  attended  the  exertions  of 
Sewall  and  the  leaders  of  the  Calvinistic  party  in 
Massachusetts,  in  establishing  a  safe  test  of  their  faith 
in  the  College  of  Connecticut,  reconciled  them  in  a 
degree  to  the  disappointment  they  had  sustained  by 
Governor  Bellamont's  negative  of  the  clause  having 
a  like  tendency  in  the  charter  of  Harvard  College. 
Willard,  Stoughton,  and  the  more  prudent  leaders 
of  this  party,  finding  that  the  violent  attack  of  the 
Mathers  on  Colman,  the  Brattles,  Leverett,  and  the 
other  seceders,  had  no  tendency  to  check  that  "  apos- 
tasy," and  having  so  far  effected  a  reconciliation,  as 
to  induce  an  acknowledgment  of  Congregational 
church  rights  and  pastoral  relations  with  the  church 
in  Brattle  Street,  there  resulted,  and  was  maintained 
during  the  whole  of  the  vice-presidency  of  Willard,  a 
species  of  theological  armistice.  The  animosity,  how- 
ever, which  the  controversy  had  enkindled,  was  never 
quenched.  Circumstances  prevented  its  appearance 
in  the  open  air.  The  surface  was,  indeed,  smooth, 
and  the  outside  fair ;  but,  when  occasions  arose  to 
excite,  or  to  stir,  the  glimmering  of  concealed  fires 
might  be  seen  under  the  external  covering.  In  the 
nature  of  things  it  was  impossible  true  reconcile- 
ment should  take  place  ;  and  that  the  adherents  of 
a  church  which  refused  to  inquire  into  the  regenera- 
tion of  communicants,  denied  the  necessity  of  explicit 
covenanting  with  God  and  the  church,  admitted  that 
persons,  not  communicants,  might  elect  pastors,  re- 
ferred admission  to  the  sacraments  to  the  prudence 
and  conscience  of  the  minister,  and  held  that  ad- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  201 

mission  to  the  pastoral  relation  might  be  valid  with-   CHAPTER 

V 

out   the   approbation  of  neighbouring   churches,    and — 

other  not  less  obnoxious  deviations  from  the  early 
platform  and  discipline,  could  ever  be  cordially  ac- 
knowledged as  brethren  by  the  strict  adherents  of  the 
ancient  Congregational  church. 

On  the   14th  of  January,   1708,  John  Leverett  was  induction 
inducted  into  the  office  of  President  of  the  College  Leverett 
by    Governor    Dudley ;    the    Overseers,    Corporation,  presidency. 
and  Resident  Fellows  being  present  on  the  occasion.  * 
Conformably  to  the  resolve  of  the  legislature  and  the 
charter  of  1650,  the  number  of  the  Corporation  was 
reduced  to  seven,    and   was    thus    constituted ;   John 
Leverett,  President ;  Nehemiah  Hobart,  William  Brat- 
tle,   Ebenezer    Pemberton,    Henry    Flynt,     Jonathan 
Remington,  Fellows  ;  Thomas  Brattle,  Treasurer.     In 
this  selection  of   members,  Governor  Dudley  gave  a 
decided  preponderance    to    those    seceders   from    the 
Platform  of  the  New  England  church,  who  had  been 
the  objects  of  the  denunciation  of  the  Mathers. 

The  election  of  Leverett  was  insupportably  griev- 
ous to  Increase  Mather  and  his  son.  They  had 
anticipated,  that  the  choice  would  have  fallen  upon 
one  or  the  other  of  them.  Between  them  there  was 
no  rivalry.  For  the'  disappointment  of  both  they 
were  not  prepared.  Their  indignation  was  excited 
against  Dudley,  who,  as  they  thought,  had  buoyed 
up  their  hopes  until  he  had  arranged  measures  and 
agents  to  insure  their  defeat.  On  the  20th  of  Letters  of 
January,  1707,  they  each  addressed  a  letter  to  Gov-  erstoGov- 

-r^,,  ,  i  .  .    .  r      i  -i        •  ernorDud- 

ernor  Dudley,   breathing  a  spirit  or  abuse  and  viru-  ley. 
lence,  of  which  the  records  of  party  animosity  contain 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 

VOL.  i.  26 


202  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   but   few   parallels,    and  well   deserving  the  character 

! given  of  them  by  Dudley,  in  his  reply,  as  "an  open 

breach  upon  all  the  laws  of  decency,  honor,  justice, 
and  Christianity."  *  "  Covetousness,"  "  lying,"  "  hy- 
pocrisy," "treachery,"  "bribery,"  "Sabbath-break- 
ing," "  robbery,"  and  "  murder,"  are  charged  upon 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  Province,  in  terms  of  no 
dubious  import.  Nor  was  the  bitterness  of  reproach 
'and  insinuation  allayed  by  being  made  in  the  char- 
acter, respectively  assumed  by  each,  of  "  spiritual  fa- 
ther," and  "faithful  adviser,"  having  "sad  fears  con- 
cerning his  soul,"  and  earnestly  solicitous,  that,  "  in 
the  methods  of  piety,  he  would  reconcile  himself  to 
Heaven,  and  secure  his  happiness  in  this  world  and 
the  world  to  come." 

The  coincidence  of  these  letters  in  point  of  time 
and  of  temper  left  no  doubt  in  Dudley's  mind,  of 
their  origin  and  motive.  "  I  should  be  stupid," 
he  says  in  reply,  "  not  to  distinguish  between  re- 
proaches and  Christian  admonitions."  "  Every  one 
can  see  through  the  pretence,  and  is  able  to  ac- 
count for  the  spring  of  these  letters,  and  how  they 
could  have  been  prevented,  without  easing  any  griev- 
ances you  complain  of."  "  I  desire  that  you  will  keep 
your  station,  and  let  fifty  or  sixty  good  ministers, 
your  equals,  in  the  Province,  have  a  share  in  the 
government  of  the  College,  and  advise  thereabouts 
as  well  as  yourselves." 

The  friends  of  the  College,  and  of  Dudley,  did 
not  fail  to  appear  in  his  defence,  and  to  express  pub- 
licly their  reprobation  of  the  conduct  of  the  Math- 
ers. The  clergy,  also,  took  sides  on  the  occasion. 

•  See  Mass.  pist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  HI.  pp.  126,  123,  135. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

The  pulpit,  according  to  the  too  frequent  custom  of  the   CHAPTER 

period,  was  made  the  organ  of  crimination  and  recrimi-  ! — 

nation.  The  Mathers  "  preached  and  prayed  about 
their  contest  with  the  Governor."  Mr.  Pemberton 
"  resented  Cotton  Mather's  letter,"  and  said,  that,  "  if 
he  were  Dudley,  he  would  humble  him,  though  it  cost 
him  his  head."  And  Colman,  preaching  at  the  lecture 
in  Boston,  treated  the  topics  of  "  envy  and  revenge," 
in  connexion  with  the  question,  whether  "  the  spirit 
was  truly  regenerated  or  no,"  in  a  manner  to  be 
"  reckoned  that  he  lashed "  the  Mathers  and  their 
party.  * 

From  this  time  the  Mathers  ceased  all  official  in- 
terference in  the  affairs  of  the  College,  notwith- 
standing they  were  both  members  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers,  in  virtue  of  their  pastoral  relation  to  a 
Congregational  church  in  Boston.  It  appears  by  the 
records  of  the  Overseers,  that  Increase  Mather  never 
subsequently  attended  a  meeting  of  that  board,  and 
Cotton  Mather  only  one  during  the  presidency  of 
Leverett ;  the  occasion  of  which  will  be  noticed 
hereafter.  The  breach  between  Cotton  Mather  and 
Dudley  seems  never  to  have  been  closed  by  con- 
cession or  explanation.  When,  in  1712,  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  in  Scotland,  conferred  on  Cotton 
Mather  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity,  the  state 
of  feeling  known  to  exist  between  him  and  the  Gov- 
ernor was  the  occasion  of  some  embarrassment  to 
President  Leverett,  on  the  question  of  inserting  this 
transatlantic  honor  in  the  Triennial  Catalogue  of  the 
College.  Dudley,  however,  relieved  him  from  his 
anxiety,  by  expressly  authorizing  the  insertion  of  the 
title,  f 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XI.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXX. 


204  HISTORY  OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  The  presidency  of  Leverett  was  distinguished  for 
--  .  —  vigorous  and  active  endeavours  to  increase  the  funds, 
megaTu°res  enlarge  the  accommodations,  arid  establish  the  neg- 
lected  or  dormant  claims  of  the  College.  The  suc- 


cess which  attended  these  efforts,  considering  the 
pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  Province,  and  the 
religious  animosities,  which  the  College  had  to  en- 
counter, is  remarkable,  and  reflects  great  honor  on 
the  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  the  President  and  the 
Corporation  ;  which  was,  at  that  period,  happily  con- 
stituted for  the  advancement  of  the  general  interests 
of  the  seminary. 

From  the  academic  habits  of  his  early  life  and  his 
subsequent  acquaintance  with  the  world,  Leverett  was 
eminently  qualified  to  take  the  management  of  the 
College.  In  the  offices  of  Judge,  Legislator,  and 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  his  capacity 
for  business  and  intellectual  labor  was  known,  and 
highly  appreciated.  Thomas  Brattle,  who  held  the 
office  of  Treasurer  twenty  years,  was  no  less  distin- 
guished for  his  knowledge  of  affairs,  and  for  the  zeal 
and  accuracy  with  which  he  watched  and  enlarged  the 
funds  of  the  institution.  William  Brattle  and  Ebenezer 
Pemberton  were  clergymen  whose  acquirements  and 
characters  were  well  adapted  to  extend  and  strengthen 
the  natural  influences  of  their  station  and  profession. 
Flynt  was  shrewd  and  skilful  in  the  scholastic  sphere 
in  which  he  passed  his  life.  Hobart  was  a  clergyman 
highly  esteemed  by  his  contemporaries.  Of  Reming- 
ton no  particular  account  is  preserved. 

Edward  In  June,    1709,   the  Corporation  took  measures  to 

legacy  re-    secure  the  legacy  of  Edward  Hopkins.     More   than 

covered.  * 

fifty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of  this  bene- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  205 

factor,  and  his  heirs  interposed  obstacles,  which  ren-  CHAPTER 
dered  the  pursuit  of  the  claim  of  the  College  trouble-  ' 
some  and  expensive,  and  final  success  dubious.  Not 
deterred  by  these  difficulties,  the  Corporation  appointed 
Henry  Newman,  of  London,  their  agent,  and  remit- 
ted forty  pounds  sterling,  for  the  prosecution  of  their 
rights.  The  object  was  pursued  with  perseverance, 
and  a  favorable  decree  in  Chancery  obtained  in  March, 
1712-13,  by  which  eight  hundred  pounds  sterling, 
the  amount  of  the  principal  legacy  with  the  accu- 
mulated interest,  was  vested  in  a  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  by  them  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of  an  extensive 
tract  of  land,  to  which  the  name  of  Hopkinton  was 
given,  in  honor  of  the  donor.  This  purchase  was 
subsequently  enlarged  by  "  a  quantity  of  country  land 
adjoining,"*  which,  being  included  within  the  bounds 
of  the  original  act  of  incorporation  of  that  town,  was 
given  by  the  General  Court  to  the  Trustees,  "  to  the 
same  good  and  pious  uses,  ends,  and  purposes,"  to 
which  the  donation  of  Mr.  Hopkins  had  been  appro- 
priated, f  The  gratitude  of  the  Trustees  was  ex- 
pressed to  Lord  Chancellor  Harcourt  in  very  lively 
terms,  in  a  letter  signed  by  the  whole  body  and  by 
Governor  Dudley.  J 

Great  losses  and  many  obstructions,  arising  in  later 
times  from  the  nature  of  the  investment,  prevented 
the  Trustees  from  attaining  by  that  donation  all  the 
advantages,  which  the  original  rents  were  calculated 
to  yield.  After  a  long-protracted  opposition  from  the 
inhabitants  of  Hopkinton,  a  final  settlement  was  as- 
sented to  by  the  Trustees  in  1832,  graduated  by  a 

*  Records  of  the  General  Court,  13th  of  December,  1715. 

t  Ibid.,  1st  of  December,  1716.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXI. 


206  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  scale  of  expediency,  and  not  of  strict  right.  The 
funds  of  this  trust,  notwithstanding  the  deductions 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  now  amount  to  nearly 
thirty  thousand  dollars. 

In   the    same  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  interests  of 

Moulson's 

obufned  tne  College,  Leverett,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1712, 
brought  the  state  of  Lady  Moulson's  donation  before 
the  General  Court,  and  obtained  upwards  of  four  hun- 
dred pounds  currency,  being  the  principal  and  ar- 
rears of  interest  of  her  gift,  which  had  been  retained 
upwards  of  seventy  years  in  the  treasury  of  the 
Colony. 

Robeit  The   legacy  of   Robert  Thorner  was  now  entered 

Thorner's  ,  ,  .,       ,  ~ 

legacy  se-    upon   the   records    of    the     Corporation ;    a    measure 

cured.  .  .  .  ,   . 

which   had   an   important   effect   in   its  ultimate    at- 
tainment. 

During  the  administration  of  Dudley  the  Corpora- 
tion received  his  uninterrupted  countenance  and  favor, 
until  toward  the  end  of  his  official  career,  when  they 
incurred%  his  resentment,  for  not  choosing,  at  his  ur- 
gent request,  his  son,  William  Dudley,  Treasurer  of 
the  College. 

Until  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Nehemiah  Hobart,  in 
August,  1712,  no  event  occurred  bringing  to  a  test 
the  religious  opinions  of  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seers.  On  the  9th  of  September,  the  vacancy  in  the 
0'  former  board,  thus  occasioned,  was  filled  by  the  elec- 
1712.  ti°n  °f  tne  RCV-  Benjamin  Wadsworth.  When  Presi- 
dent Leverett  announced  this  choice  to  Governor 
Dudley,  he  expressed  his  approbation  ;  but  recommend- 
ed that  the  meeting  of  the  Overseers  for  its  approval 
should  be  postponed,  saying,  that  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  Mr.  Sewall  were  about  to  be  absent 
on  a  journey,  and  that  he  was  desirous  they  should 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  207 

be  present.  *    Accordingly  the  meeting  of  the  Over-  CHAPTER 

seers  did  not  take  place  until  the  5th  of  November.  ! — 

Wadsworth  was  known  to  coincide  in  the  religious 
opinions  of  Pemberton  and  Leverett,  from  which  the 
Lieutenarit-Governor  and  Sewall  differed  ;  but,  though 
both  were  present  on  this  occasion,  no  opposition  oc- 
curred. It  is,  however,  remarkable,  that,  at  an  elec- 
tion, having  a  direct  bearing  on  the  religious  character 
of  the  College,  out  of  forty  members,  of  whom  the 
board  was  composed,  only  ten  were  present,  and  not 
a  single  clergyman. 

After  the  election  of  Wadsworth,  no  subsequent 
vacancy  occurred  in  the  Corporation  until  the  death 
of  Thomas  Brattle,  the  Treasurer  of  the  College,  on 
the  13th  of  May,  1713. 

The  Rev.  William  Brattle,  his  brother  and  executor, 
at  the  request  of  the  Corporation,  took  immediate 
possession  of  the  funds  of  the  College,  and  performed 
the  duties  of  Treasurer,  until  another  was  regularly 
chosen.  In  this  election  great  difficulties  and  delays 
occurred.  Governor  Dudley  hadf  "a  vehement  de- 
sire," that  his  youngest  son,  Colonel  William  Dudley, 
should  succeed  Thomas  Brattle  in  that  office.  In 
this  wish  the  Corporation,  for  some  reason  not  now 
known,  did  not  concur.  After  a  short  delay,  they 
chose  John  White,  on  the  13th  of  October,  1713. 
When  the  committee  of  the  board  1  waited  upon  JohnWhit* 

elected 

Governor  Dudley  to  inform  him  of  this  election,  he  ex-  Treasurer. 
pressed  great  dissatisfaction,  recommended  that  White 
should  not  accept  the  office,  and  advised  the  Corpo- 
ration not  to  insist  upon  a  call  of  the  Overseers  for 


*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  55.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 

$  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXII. 


208  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  their  approval.  The  Corporation  so  far  acceded  to  his 
—  recommendation,  as  to  omit  insisting  upon  an  imme- 
diate meeting  of  that  board.  They,  however,  took 
no  measures  to  reconsider  the  election  of  White  ;  and, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  year,  as  they  persisted  in 
their  choice,  Dudley  ordered  a  meeting  of  the  Over- 
seers in  a  manner  altogether  irregular  and  unsatisfac- 
tory,* on  a  notice  of  only  three  days.  His  policy,  if 
it  had  in  view  the  defeat  of  White's  election,  was 
unsuccessful.  The  friends  of  the  Corporation  and  the 
enemies  of  Dudley  rallied  in  favor  of  White.  Among 
the  last,  Cotton  Mather,  not  displeased  to  thwart  the 
wishes  of  Dudley,  took  his  seat,  as  an  Overseer.  This 
was  the  only  instance  of  his  presence  at  the  board 
during  the  administration  of  Leverett.  White  was 
chosen,  but  circumstances,  not  now  known,  prevented 
his  entrance  upon  the  active  duties  of  Treasurer  until 
the  July  following  (1715).  During  the  whole  period 
of  the  vacancy  of  that  office,  William  Brattle  managed 
the  pecuniary  concerns  of  the  institution  with  the 
intelligence  and  fidelity,  for  which  his  conduct  and 
that  of  his  brother  were  distinguished.  The  demise 
of  Queen  Anne  occurred  in  1714.  This  event  ren- 
dered the  tenure  of  Governor  Dudley's  office  preca- 
rious ;  his  influence  began  to  decline,  and  there  is 
no  subsequent  evidence  of  his  direct  participation  in 
any  measures  affecting  the  seminary. 

Arrival  of        Colonel    Shute,  who  succeeded  to  the   Governor's 
shute.         chair  in  October,  1715,  favored  the  party  which  sup- 
ported the   policy  of  his  predecessor.     He  early  re- 
ceived and  reciprocated  the  civilities  of  the  College,  f 


*  October  7th,  1714.     Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  94. 
t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXIII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  209 

Taking  the  oath  of  office  on  the  5th,  he  visited  the  CHAPTER 
College  on  the  15th  of  October,  where  he  was  re-  — — — 
ceived  with  the  usual  classic  honors.  One  of  the  grad- 
uates addressed  him  in  Latin ;  and  the  Governor  re- 
plied with  commendations,  and  assurances  of  his  favor. 
President  Leverett  accompanied  him  on  a  tour  to 
New  Hampshire,  and  records,  in  terms  of  great  praise, 
the  demeanor  and  conversation  of  the  Governor ;  who 
proved  himself  in  almost  every  exigency  an  efficient 
supporter  of  the  measures  of  the  Corporation,  and  a 
firm  friend  of  the  College. 

In  1717  the  Corporation  lost  two  of  its  most  valued  Death  of 
members.     Ebenezer  Pemberton,  senior  pastor  of  the  Pemberton 

and  Wil- 

Old  South  Church  in   Boston,   died  on  the   13th  of  lia 

tle. 

February ;  and  William  Brattle,  pastor  of  the  Church 
in  Cambridge,  on  the  15th  of  that  month.  Brattle 
and  Pemberton  were  both  men  in  life  beloved,  and  in 
death  deeply  lamented.  "  A  great  part  of  the  beauty 
of  our  Israel  is  fallen,"  exclaims  Colman  in  a  funeral 
sermon  on  the  occasion.  "  They  were  stars  of  the 
first  magnitude.  Providence  set  them  at  the  head  of 
the  country  for  learning  and  usefulness.  They  were 
singular  ornaments  of  it,  pillars  in  the  church  of  Christ 
here,  and  among  the  fathers  of  the  College ;  "  "  alike 
philosophers  and  divines,"  "  faithful  in  their  trusts," 
"  distinguished  for  their  judgment,"  and  "  for  their 
mutual  friendship  and  affection." 

The  filling  of  the  vacancies  thus  occasioned,  became 
to  each  of  the  rival  religious  parties  an  object  of  solici- 
tude ;  and  was  considered  by  each  as  a  test  of  the  re- 
ligious influences  under  which  the  College  was  to  be 
continued.  The  relations  of  the  bereaved  churches 
had  been  always  intimate  with  the  seminary.  All  the 
ministers  of  the  Old  South  Church  had  been  succes- 

VOL.  i.  27 


210  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  sivelj  members  of  the  Corporation  of  the  College. 
- — .  The  surviving  pastor,  Joseph  Sewall,  was  distinguished 
for  his  piety  and  doctrinal  zeal.  He  was  the  son 
of  Chief  Justice  Sewall,  who,  of  all  the  laity,  was  the 
most  earnest  and  active  supporter  of  the  Calvinistic 
faith  ;  and  was  the  favorite  candidate  of  those,  who 
were  desirous  that  the  doctrines  of  that  sect  should 
prevail  and  be  established  in  the  College.  To  this 
party  Colman,  the  pastor  of  "  the  Manifesto  Church," 
was  more  obnoxious  than  any  other  individual,  who 
was  likely  to  be  a  candidate.  The  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Cambridge,  also,  had  always  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Corporation  ;  and  it  was  all-important,  that 
this  church  should  elect  a  clergyman,  who  should  be 
an  acceptable  member  of  that  board.  In  the  crisis  of 
the  religious  character  of  the  College,  which  these 
contemporaneous  vacancies  presented,  the  Corporation 
conducted  with  equal  vigor,  decision,  and  openness. 
On  the  14th  of  April,  1717,  within  two  months  after 
the  decease  of  William  Brattle,  measures  were  taken 
to  supply  the  vacancy  in  the  Cambridge  church. 
Among  the  candidates  was  Nathaniel  Appleton,  a 
young  man,  who  was  graduated  in  1712,  and  on  whom 
the  wishes  of  the  Corporation  concentrated.  President 
Leverett  took  an  active  part,  as  a  member  of  the 
church,  in  effecting  the  election  of  Appleton;  was 
moderator  of  the  meeting,  presided  in  all  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  church  and  congregation ;  and,  when  Ap- 
pleton, by  a  great  majority,  was  declared  to  be  chosen, 
on  entering  the  proceedings  in  his  Diary,  concludes 
his  record  with  a  "  Laus  Deo."  *  The  Corporation 
having  attained  their  wishes  in  thus  supplying  the 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  120. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  211 

pastoral  office  in  Cambridge,  did  not  wait  even  for  the   CHAPTER 

•y- 

ordination  of  Mr.   Appleton,  but  immediately  elected  . 
him  a  member   of  their   board,   in  the   place  of  Mr.  Appleton 
Brattle.     At   the   same    time    they   elected  the  Rev.  mincoi- 

r»        •         •      in    i  •          i  fTi/rT»T  man  elect- 

Uenjamm  Colman  a  member  in  place  or  Mr.  rember-  edfeiiows. 
ton.  These  elections  were  approved  by  the  Overseers 
without  contest ;  although  passing  by  Sewall,  the 
late  colleague  of  Pemberton  and  successor  of  Willard, 
was  regarded  by  the  strict  adherents  to  the  Calvin- 
istic  doctrines,  as  identifying  the  College  with  those 
heresies,  which  were  viewed  by  them  as  sapping  the 
foundations  of  the  Congregational  church.  Opposition 
would  have  had  no  chance  of  success  in  the  board  of 
Overseers,  in  relation  to  clergymen  of  the  weight  of 
character  of  Colman,  and  of  the  popularity  of  Apple- 
ton,  connected,  as  they  both  were,  with  churches  re- 
spectable for  wealth,  influence,  and  numbers.  The 
strength  of  the  high  Calvinistic  party  was  then  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  which  could  not  on  that 
election  be  brought  into  the  field.  Those  violent 
political  passions,  which  disturbed  the  popular  branch 
of  the  Provincial  legislature  during  the  whole  admin- 
istration of  Governor  Shute,  had  already  begun  to 
rage  ;  and  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  space 
for  a  theological  controversy  in  such  an  arena.  Dis- 
cussions concerning  paper  money,  and  private  banks, 
and  land  banks,  with  the  depreciating  state  of  the 
currency,  and  the  consequent  embarrassment  of  in- 
dividuals, were  the  absorbing  interests  of  the  legis- 
lature. Cooke,  *  the  leader  of  the  popular  party,  had 
just  commenced  an  avowed  opposition  to  Governor 
Shute,  who  was  represented  as  a  weak  man,  under 

*  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  II.  chap.  3 


212  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the  influence  of  the  Dudleys,  and  inclined  to  principles 

x' of  government  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

Among  the  rigid  Calvinists  these  elections  to  the  Cor- 
poration were  the  occasion  of  a  deep  and  settled  ani- 
mosity to  the  College,  malign  and  determined,  though 
concealed,  by  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  under 
general  courtesy  of  language  and  demeanor.  But 
means  were  soon  discovered  to  embarrass,  and  ulti- 
mately almost  to  break  down,  the  Corporation,  by 
attempts  to  eject  the  obnoxious  individuals.  These 
endeavours  would  unquestionably  have  been  success- 
ful, had  it  not  been  for  the  firmness  of  Governor  Shute, 
and  the  resolved,  self-sustaining  spirit  of  the  assailed 
members. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  213 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Indications  of  a  Design  to  embarrass  the  Corporation.  —  Pierpont 
refused  a  Degree  by  President  Leverett.  —  Appeals  to  the  Corpora- 
tion, who  confirm  Leverett's  Decision. — Pierpont  prosecutes  a 
Tutor  at  Common  Law.  —  The  Case  brought  before  the  Overseers. 

—  The  Dudleys  support   Pierpont. —  Conduct  of  Paul  Dudley  on 
the  Occasion.  —  Pierpont's  Case  dismissed  by  the  Courts  of  Law. — 
Judge  Sewall's  Attack  on  President  Leverett  before  the  Overseers. 

—  Supported  by  Paul  Dudley.  — Leverett's  and  Sewall's  respective 
Accounts  of  that  Affair.  —  Cotton  Mather's  Animosity  to  the  Cor- 
poration.—  His  Letter  to  Governor  Shute  in  Favor  of  Pierpont. — 
His  Zeal  in  Favor  of  the  College  at  New  Haven. 

THE    animosity   to   the    College,   excited    by    the  CHAPTER 

election   of  Colman  and  Appleton  into  the  Corpora '- — 

tion,  was  soon  manifested.  A  year  did  not  elapse 
after  that  event,  before  the  quiet  of  the  seminary 
began  to  be  disturbed,  and  the  Corporation  embar- 
rassed, by  questions  undermining  the  authority  of  the 
board.  From  the  nature  of  these  questions,  and 
the  countenance  given  to  those  who  agitated  them  by 
leading  members  of  the  board  of  Overseers,  it  is 
apparent,  that  other  motives  than  those  avowed  were 
in  action,  and  that  they  had  their  origin  in  external 
influences  of  more  importance  than  the  apparent 
agents  in  these  troubles. 

In  the  year  1718,  a  graduate  by  the  name  of  Pier- 
pont was  refused  his  second  degree  by  President 
Leverett,  on  the  ground  of  allegations  brought  against 


214  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   him  by  Mr.  Sever,  a  tutor,  "  of  contemning,  reproach- 

: —  ing,    and   insulting  the    government  of   the   College, 

and  particularly  the  tutors,  for  their  management  in 
admission  of  scholars."  No  further  account  of  these 
insults  is  given,  but  the  proceedings,  which  grew  out 
of  them,  are  recapitulated  with  minuteness  in  the 
records  of  the  Corporation  and  Overseers ;  and  also  in 
the  Diaries  of  President  Leverett,  and  of  Henry  Flynt, 
senior  tutor  of  the  College.  These  evidence,  that  the 
attack  on  the  government  was  of  a  very  serious  char- 
acter. Both  expressly  state,  that  it  "  threatened  the 
dissolution  of  the  College." 

In  consequence  of  this  refusal  of  his  degree,  Pier- 
pont,  with  several  of  his  friends,  came  before  the 
Corporation  on  Commencement  day,  and  demanded 
a  hearing.  This  was  granted,  and,  the  evidence  in 
support  of  the  charges  against  him  being  adduced, 
after  "  long  and  impertinent  talk,"  as  President  Lev- 
erett characterizes  the  speeches  of  Pierpont  and  his 
friends,  the  Corporation  "  declared  seriatim  their 
opinion,  and  uno  ore  voted,  that  said  Ebenezer  Pier- 
pont ought  not  to  be  admitted  to  his  second  degree 
this  day."* 
Pierpont  Dissatisfied  with  this  result,  Pierpont  immediately 

prosecutes  ~  __, 

Tutor  Sev-  prosecuted  Mr.  Sever  at  common  law.  This  open 
defiance  of  the  authority  of  the  Corporation,  in  a  case 
deemed  by  them  wholly  within  their  jurisdiction,  led 
to  a  meeting  of  that  body  on  the  1 1  th  of  Septem- 
ber following,  for  "  consultation  on  the  measures 
to  be  taken  to  secure  and  support  the  government 
of  the  College  against  the  attack  made  upon  it 


*  Records  of  the   Corporation.  —  Leverett's  Manuscript,  pp.  144, 
145.       ' 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  215 

by  Pierpont,  in  his   extraordinary  prosecution  of  Mr.   CHAPTER 
Sever."  — — - 

From  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting,  which  was 
informal,  and  from  the  Diaries  of  President  Leverett 
and  Tutor  Flynt,  it  appears,  that  the  Corporation  had 
reason  to  believe,  that  Dudley,  the  former  Governor, 
and  his  son  Paul  Dudley,  then  Attorney-General  of 
the  Province,  were  the  origin  of  these  difficulties. 

The  former,  although  no  longer  chief  magistrate  of 
the  Province,  retained  considerable  influence,  which,  in 
a  degree,  extended  over  Shute,  his  successor.  Dudley  Discontent 

.',...  .  .  .  r>       of  the  Dud- 

Was  by  nature  vindictive,  craving,  and  ambitious.     By  leys. 

rejecting  his  urgent  nomination  of  his  son,  William 
Dudley,  as  Treasurer  of  the  College,  the  Corporation 
had  incurred  his  resentment.  Their  election  of  an- 
other to  that  office  was,  probably,  regarded  by  him 
as  a  mark  of  ingratitude  and  disrespect.  Paul  Dud- 
ley, his  eldest  son,  shared  the  discontent  of  his  father. 
In  early  life  he  had  courted  the  favor  of  the  crown, 
and  openly  joined  those  who  were  zealous  to  abridge 
the  privileges  of  the  Province.*  He  received,  as  his 
reward,  in  1702,  the  appointment  of  Attorney-General, 
and  became  obnoxious  to  the  people,  as  an  enemy  to 
their  liberties.  Being  ambitious  of  place  and  political 
influence,  he  studiously  endeavoured  to  remove  those 
early  prejudices.  To  this  end  it  was  then  necessary  to 
join  the  stricter  sect  of  the  Calvinists,  and  he  became 
one  of  its  most  open  and  active  adherents.  The  Col- 
lege owed  the  restoration  of  its  early  charter  to  Gov- 
ernor Dudley,  and  the  independence  of  his  influence, 
which  the  government  of  the  institution  now  showed, 
excited  his  animosity  and  that  of  his  family.  Judge 

*  Eliot's  Biog.  Diet.,  art.  Dudley. 


216  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTEH   Sewall,  whose  son  had  married  a  daughter  of  Governor 

XI 

'• —  Dudley,  participated  in  their  dissatisfaction. 

Apprized  of  the  state  of  feeling  which  existed 
towards  them  in  the  Dudley  family,  the  Corporation, 
at  this  informal  meeting,  appointed  a  committee,  in 
the  language  of  President  Leverett,  "  to  take  the 
first  opportunity  to  discourse  with  Governor  Dudley, 
and  his  son,  Mr.  Paul  Dudley,  who  have  been  sus- 
pected to  be  not  a  little  the  occasion  of  the  present 
disturbances  given  to  the  President  and  Fellows,  and 
that  they  make  report  of  their  interview."* 

No  such  report  was  ever  made ;  and  the  conduct 
of  Paul  Dudley,  on  subsequent  occasions,  sufficiently 
evidences,  that  the  "  suspicions  "  of  the  Corporation 
were  well  founded. 

1718.  On  the  15th  of  September  the  Corporation  "voted 
to  apply  to  Governor  Shute  for  a  meeting  of  the 
Overseers,"  and  made  a  formal  address  to  him,  in 
writing,  stating  the  appeal  by  Pierpont,  from  the 
decision  of  the  Corporation  to  the  courts  of  common 
law,  representing  "  the  emergency  to  be  of  great 
importance  to  the  College,"  and  apprehended  by 
them  "to  be  hurtful  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
that  seminary,  and  tending  to  weaken  the  govern- 
ment thereof." 

Governor  Shute  deemed  this  application  for  a  call 
of  the  Overseers  sufficiently  important,  to  ask  the 
advice  of  his  Council  upon  granting  it.  They  being  in 
favor  of  the  measure,  he  authorized  President  Leverett 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  board,  with  instructions,  that 
Sever  and  Pierpont  should  both  be  summoned  to  attend. 

This  meeting  took  place  on   the  31st  of  the  suc- 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  pp.  142,  146,  149. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  217 

ceeding    October.      The    general    attendance    on    the   CHAPTER 

occasion  sufficiently  indicates  the  interest  felt  in  the  . ! 

result.  Besides  Governor  Shute,  Lieutenant-Governor  Iheeovegr-of 
Tailer,  and  President  Leverett,  there  were  present 
twenty-one  lay  and  twelve  clerical  members.  After 
the  address  of  the  President  and  Fellows  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  the  act  of  Council,  advising  him  to  call 
a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  were  read,  the  board 
proceeded  to  hear  the  several  allegations  and  the 
evidence  adduced  by  each  of  the  parties.  The  lan- 
guage of  Pierpont  on  the  occasion,  is  represented 
by  President  Leverett  to  have  been  marked  with 
"  confusion,  impertinence,  and  impudence  " ;  that  of 
Sever  "  with  plainness,  modesty,  and  honesty."  The 
former  adhered  to  his  determination,  "  to  convent 
Sever  before  his  Majesty's  justices  of  the  peace," 
for  "  slandering,  belying,  and  abusing  him."* 

The  debate  was  long  and  animated.  At  length 
the  Overseers,  embarrassed  by  the  support  given  to 
Pierpont,  condescended  to  cause  a  formal  draft  of 
an  acknowledgment,  such  as  they  thought  Pierpont 
ought  to  make,  to  be  prepared,  expressive  of  his 
great  regret  at  his  "  heat  and  passion,"  of  his  desire 
to  be  forgiven,  and  admitted  to  the  honors  of  the 
College.  This  draft,  having  been  prepared  and  sanc- 
tioned by  the  board  of  Overseers,  a  committee  was 
appointed,  of  which  Chief  Justice  Sewall  was  chair- 
man, to  offer  it  to  Pierpont  for  his  signature.  After 
a  long  delay  and  negotiation,  the  committee  returned 
and  reported  to  the  Overseers,  that.  Pierpont  utterly 
refused  to  sign  any  such  acknowledgment.  Upon 
which  the  board,  without  taking  any  further  measures 


*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  pp.  149,  150. 

VOL.  i.  28 


218  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   on  the  subject,  broke  up,  in  a  manner  equally  disor- 
-  derlj  and  unjustifiable. 

President  Leverett  gives  the  following  account  of 
these  proceedings  ; 
conductor       "  Mr.  Paul  Dudley  gave  himself  a  great  liberty,  to 

Paul  Dud-  •         iv  J  •  J- 

ley.  patronize  rierpont,  and  made  sundry  motions,  tending 
to  embarrass  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting ;  and, 
while  he  endeavoured  to  hide,  he  did  but  the  more 
discover  his  partiality  ;  and  it  was  to  be  wished  he 
had  been  less  indulged  than  he  was  by  ." 

This  blank  can  apply  only  to  Governor  Shute,  who, 
as  presiding  officer,  had  alone  the  power  to  extend 
or  deny  indulgence  to  those  engaged  in  the  debate. 
His  conduct  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  is  also 
represented  as  very  exceptionable  and  undignified. 

"  While  the  Chief  Justice  and  Mr.  Gibbs,"  says 
Leverett,  "  were  gone  into  the  lobby,  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  withdrew,  and  went  out 
from  the  board  at  the  door  where  Pierpont's  gang 
were  waiting ;  Mr.  Dudley  having  whispered  the 
Governor.  Soon  after  the  report  was  made,  his  Ex- 
cellency left  his  chair,  followed  by  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and,  passing  by,  ordered  Mr.  Hiller,  the 
clerk  of  the  Council,  to  adjourn  the  Council ;  and  so 
abruptly  left  the  Overseers  in  some  confusion  and 
great  dissatisfaction." 

The  Corporation,  thus  left  by  the  Overseers  with- 
out either  support  or  advice,  had  no  other  resort  than 
in  the  firmness  and  independence  of  the  courts  of 
law.  Happily  by  them  they  were  not  abandoned. 
1718.  When,  in  the  November  following,  the  prosecution 
which  Pierpont  had  instituted  came  to  be  heard  before 
the  justices  at  common  law,  they  ordered  "  the  com- 
plaint to  be  quashed,  and  the  defendant  to  be  dis- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  219 

missed,"  upon  the  ground,  that  "  the   matter  in  dif-   CHAPTER 
ference  had  already  had  a  hearing,  according  to  the  -    — — 
charter   of   Harvard  College    and  the  laws   and  cus-  complaint 
toms  thereof,  before  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  of 
said  College." 

The  remarks  of  President  Leverett  on  this  decision 
of  the  courts  of  law  indicate  the  critical  nature  of 
this  difficulty,  and  that  it  involved  more  important 
consequences  than  could  have  resulted  from  a  mere 
dispute  between  a  graduate  and  a  tutor. 

The  above  determination  of  the  justices,  says  Lev- 
erett, "  put  an  end  to  an  affair  that  was  very  trouble- 
some, and  that  which  threatened  the  dissolution  of  the 
College ;  and  caused  many  thoughts  in  those  that  had 
the  welfare  and  safety  of  that  society,  which  had  been 
so  signal  a  blessing  to  New  England,  at  heart.  A 
particular  history  of  the  affair,  may,  if  God  directs 
and  spirits  the  President  thereto,  hereafter  be  given." 

This  "  dissolution  of  the  College,"  which  President 
Leverett  and  Tutor  Flynt  apprehended  in  case  the 
result  at  common  law  had  been  different,  can  only 
allude  to  a  determination,  which  existed  among  the 
high  and  honorable  men  who  then  composed  the 
Corporation,  to  resign  their  seats  in  case  the  author- 
ity of  that  board  were  treated  with  the  same  neglect 
and  indifference  by  the  courts  of  law,  as  it  had  been 
by  the  Overseers.  To  effect  a  change  in  the  religious 
influence  of  the  board,  by  resignation  or  otherwise, 
was,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  the  policy  of  the  eccle- 
siastical faction,  which  had  the  ascendency  in  the 
Province,  and  of  which  the  Mathers,  Chief  Justice 
Sewall,  and  Attorney-General  Dudley,  were  the  lead- 
ers. Other  occurrences  of  the  period,  besides  this 


220  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  encouragement  given  to  the  contumacy  of  Pierpont, 
'  render  this  conclusion  irresistible. 

Circumstances  of  a  similar  character,  and  still  more 
illustrative  of  motives,  took  place  at  succeeding  meet- 
ings of  the  Overseers. 

On  the  31st  of  October,  Governor  Shute  had  agreed 
with  President  Leverett,  that  there  should  be  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Overseers  on  the  7th  of  November  follow- 
ing, for  the  presentation  of  a  memorial  to  the  General 
Court  for  enlarging  Massachusetts  Hall,  the  building 
of  which  was  then  commenced,  to  the  length  of  one 
hundred  feet,  instead  of  fifty,  which  was  the  first  plan. 
As  the  sole  end  of  that  meeting  was  to  agree  on  this 
memorial,  to  which  the  clerical  members  of  the  board 
could  not  possibly  have  any  objection,  they  were  not 
duly  warned  to  appear.  On  the  day  appointed  by 
the  Governor,  President  Leverett,  Mr.  Colman,  and 
Mr.  Wadsworth  waited  on  his  Excellency  and  the 
Council  board  at  their  chamber.  *  After  a  draft  of  the 
proposed  memorial  had  been  read,  Paul  Dudley,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Council,  objected  to  further 
proceedings,  because,  as  the  ministers,  Overseers  of 
the  College,  had  not  been  summoned,  "  the  meeting 
was  not  regular,"  and  because  "  it  was  not  proper  for 
the  Council  to  address  themselves."  "  Though  these 
objections,"  says  Leverett,  "  were  accounted  but  frivo- 
lous ones,  yet  the  meeting  was  dropped  ;  "  and  the 
Governor  appointed  another  on  the  12th  of  Novem- 
ber, ordering  the  attendance  of  the  Council  on  that 
day,  and  desiring  the  President  to  cause  the  minis- 
ters to  be  warned. 

On  the  day  appointed  there  was  a  full  meeting  of 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  153. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  221 

the  Overseers.    At  the  request  of  the  Governor,  Presi-  CHAPTER 
dent  Leverett  stated,  that  the  object  of  the  meeting 


.   .  *         s-*t  i     /-^  i  i        Meeting  of 

was   to    petition   the    General    Court  to   enlarge  the  theOver- 

,.,,.,  ~         ,        r,    ,,  /.  seers,  Nov. 

building  they  were  then  erecting  for  the  College  from  i2th. 
fifty  to  one  hundred  feet.  He  then  read  the  draft  of 
a  memorial  for  that  object,  which,  at  the  request  of 
the  Governor,  he  had  prepared,  and  which  stated,  at 
considerable  length,  the  general  reasons  for  the  appli- 
cation. After  he  had  read  the  memorial,  he  delivered 
it  into  the  hands  of  Governor  Shute.  The  occur- 
rences, which  succeeded,  will  best  be  related  in  the 
words  of  President  Leverett. 

"  When  the  President  had  read  the  above  memorial,  Leveretfs 

.  .  .        account  of 

he  delivered  it  into  his  Excellency's  hand,  who  dis-  it- 
coursed  in  short  in  favor  of  it,  and  seemed  to  be  ready 
to  put  it  to  vote.  But  Mr.  Dudley  prayed  he  might 
look  upon  it,  to  whom  it  was  handed  ;  and  while  he 
was  looking  on  it,  there  was  an  interval  of  silence.  In 
which  space  Judge  Sewall  stood  up,  and  said  to  this 
effect ;  '  While  we  are  considering  to  enlarge  the 
College  for  the  receiving  students,  I  desire  to  be  in- 
formed how  the  worship  of  God  is  carried  on  in  the 
Hall,  and  to  ask  Mr.  President,  whether  there  has 
not  been  some  intermission  of  the  exposition  of  the 
Scriptures  of  late. '  The  President,  after  a  short 
pause,  answered,  '  that  he  thought  the  present  busi- 
ness of  the  meeting  was  to  be  attended,  and  not  to 
be  interrupted  by  any  surmise  of  a  neglect  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  College,  and  that 
the  place  where  the  Overseers  were  now  convened 
was  not  the  proper  place  for  such  an  inquiry.  That 
if  the  Overseers,  who  are  the  visitors  of  the  College, 
had  any  informations  laid  before  them  of  omissions 
or  neglects  of  duty,  or  maladministration,  by  any 


222  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   of  the  persons  that  had  the  immediate  administration 

XI 

— — —  of  the  College  in  their  hands,  that  the  Overseers 
should  make  a  visitation,  and  inquire  into  those  mat- 
ters upon  the  very  place,  either  in  the  College  Hall  or 
Library.'  And  the  President  added,  '  he  did  not  ex- 
pect such  a  question  should  have  been  moved  at  this 
time,  in  interruption  of  the  business  before  the  Over- 
seers, and  for  the  considering  and  advising  upon  which 
this  meeting  was  called ;  and  that  he  was  surprised, 
and  little  expected  such  a  treatment  from  the  honor- 
able person  that  moved  it,  having  never  once  sug- 
gested anj  thing  of  his  suspicion  or  apprehension  of 
any  failure  in  his  duty  from  his  Honor.' 

"  His  Excellency  took  up  the  matter,  and  declared, 
that  the  motion,  whatever  occasion  there  might  be  for 
it,  though  he  knew  none,  was  very  improper,  and 
altogether  out  of  course  ;  and  the  whole  board  seemed 
to  be  of  the  same  opinion,  except  Mr.  Dudley,  who, 
(it  may  be  supposed,  by  concert  with  somebody,  it  may 
be  then  not  present,*  contrived  the  interval  of  silence, 
by  poring  on  the  memorial,  that  so  the  zealous  Judge 
might  have  the  opportunity  to  make  his  impertinent, 
not  to  say,  in  him,  invidious  motion),  raising  his  head 
and  eyes  from  the  paper  he  seemed  to  be  intent  in 
reading,  said,  —  *  he,  for  his  part,  seconded  his  Honor 
the  Chief  Justice's  motion.' 

"  However,  this  motion  was  put  by,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  the  meeting  was  reassumed.  And  yet  sundry 
motions  were  made  again  by  Mr.  Dudley,  tending  to, 
if  not  designed  for,  a  diversion ;  but  at  length  the 
question  was  put,  Whether  it  be  the  mind  of  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  that  the  General  As- 

*  Alluding,  probably,  to  Governor  Dudley. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

sembly  he  addressed  to  perfect  the  new  building  of  a   CHAPTER 

College  in  Cambridge  to  one  hundred  feet  in  length  ? ! 

Which  passed  in  the  affirmative."  A  Committee  was 
then  appointed  to  present  the  memorial  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court ;  and  a  vote,  in  conformity  with  the  motion 
of  Judge  Sevvall  was  also  passed,  that  "  the  Presi- 
dent shall  entertain  the  scholars  in  the  College  with 
frequent  expositions  of  the  Scriptures."* 

The  account  given  by  Judge  Sewall  of  these  pro- 
ceedings does  not  materially  differ  from  that  of  Presi- 
dent Leverett.  As  a  characteristic  indication  of  the 
passions  and  policy  of  the  factions  which  then  agi- 
tated the  Province  and  the  board  of  Overseers,  and 
as  a  curious  illustration  of  this  portion  of  the  history 
of  the  College,  it  is  worthy  of  preservation.! 

The  support  given  to  Pierpont  by  some  of  the 
Overseers,  and  this  public  attack  made  upon  Lev- 
erett in  their  presence,  place  beyond  any  reason- 
able doubt,  the  existence  of  a  party  in  that  board, 
ready  and  prepared  to  find  fault  with  the  measures 
and  embarrass  the  proceedings  of  the  Corporation. 
Nor  can  it  be  questioned,  from  the  nature  and  time 
selected  for  this  attack  upon  the  President,  that  it 
had  for  its  object  to  bring  into  public  suspicion  the  projects  of 
religious  state  of  the  College,  and  to  lead  to  such  contents. 
changes  in  the  Corporation  and  government  of  the 
College,  as  might  place  both  under  influences  more 
congenial  to  the  prevailing  sect  in  the  Province. 

The  attack  made  by  Sewall  upon  Leverett  seems, 
by  the  acknowledgment  of  both,  to  have  been  as  un- 
expected as  it  was  direct.  The  manner  in  which 
Leverett  expresses  himself  relative  to  the  conduct  of 

*  Overseers'  Records.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


224  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  the  malecontent  Overseers,  unequivocally  indicates, 
'. —  that  there  were  ulterior  objects  in  view,  well  under- 
stood, for  the  advancement  of  which  occasions  would 
be  sought,  and  of  the  existence  of  which  the  coun- 
tenance given  to  Pierpont,  and  the  zeal  about  expo- 
sitions in  the  Hall,  were  but  symptoms,  having  their 
origin,  however,  in  a  settled  design  to  effect  a  change 
in  the  influences  which  then  controlled  the  institu- 
tion. 

From  the  religious  and  political  relations  of  the 
period,  the  chance  of  success  in  this  design  was 
flattering,  and  all  those  who  favored  it  endeavoured 
by  zeal  and  activity  to  advance  so  desirable  an  event. 
cotton  Among  the  rest,  Cotton  Mather,  notwithstanding  he 
conduct.  scrupulously  abstained  from  attending  the  meetings 
of  the  board  of  Overseers,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber in  right  of  his  pastoral  office,  did  not  fail  to  en- 
courage dissatisfaction,  and  promote  discontent  with 
the  management  of  the  College. 

As  soon  as  Shute  took  possession  of  the  Chair  of 
State,  this  spirit  begins  to  appear  in  Mather's  Diary, 
his  letters,  and  his  acts.  In  July,  1717,  he  speaks  of 
"  Commencement,  as  they  call  it,  as  a  time  of  much 
resort  in  Cambridge,  and  sorrily  enough  thrown  away." 
The  College  he  represents  as  being  "  in  a  very  neg- 
lected and  unhappy  condition,  and  as  betrayed  into 
vile  practices,"  so  much  so,  that  he  states,*  "  he  re- 
mained at  home  on  that  day  in  prayer,  that  it  might 
be  restored,  and  become  a  nursery  of  piety,  industry, 
and  all  erudition." 

When  the  attack,  made  upon  the  Corporation  by 
Pierpont,  was  in  discussion  before  the  Overseers,  the 

*  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI.  p.  297. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  225 


opportunity  to  gratify  his  enmity  to  the  administration   CHAPTER 

of  the    College   was   too  favorable    to   be   passed    by  '. — 

without  an  exertion,  on  his  part,  to  aid  in  their  dis- 
comfiture. He  had  early  taken  occasion  to  exhibit 
the  qualities  of  Shute  in  malign  contrast  with  those 
he  attributed  to  his  predecessor.  "  Our  excellent 
Governor,"  he  writes,  "  who  has  delivered  the  coun- 
try from  a  flood  of  corruptions,  which  was  introduced 
by  selling  places,  is  to  be  encouraged,  and  a  course 
must  be  taken,  that  he  may  be  vindicated  from  the 
aspersions  of  a  cursed  crew  in  this  place,  that  traduce 
him."*  Preparing  the  way  for  favor  by  language  of 
this  kind,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor  Shute  on  His  letter 
the  31st  of  October,  1718,  being  the  very  day  on  norShute. 
which  the  Overseers  met  to  consider  the  complaints  of 
Pierpont.  In  this,  he  lauds  the  Governor  for  "  know- 
ing no  other  interest  than  for  the  public  "  ;  speaks 
scornfully  of  "  the  unaccountably  called  Overseers  of 
the  College  "  ;  attempts  to  excite  in  Shute  a  preju- 
dice against  them,  for  not  acknowledging  their  de- 
pendence on  him,  in  whose  "breath  of  favor"  he 
intimates  they  exist ;  represents  the  charter  under 
which  they  act  as  "  a  pretence  and  presumption  "  ; 
calls  Pierpont  "  the  abused  and  oppressed " ;  and 
requests  the  Governor  to  bring  "  to  a  compendious 
issue  the  dispute  between  Pierpont  and  the  pretended 
President,"  which  he  denominates  a  contest  between 
a  frog  and  a  mouse  ("  /Sarpo^op^a/m  ").  After  a 
course  of  remark  thus  opprobrious  and  hostile,  he 
concludes  with  the  following  request,  characteristic 
of  his  mind  and  of  his  motives.  "  Your  Excellency's 
incomparable  goodness  and  wisdom  will  easily  discern 

*  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI.  p.  296. 

VOL.  i.  29 


226  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   and  approve  the  intention  of  the  freedom  used  in  this 

XI 

—  letter,  and  have  it  and  its  writer  covered  under  the 
darkest  concealment.  And  the  rather,  because,  for 
some  reasons,  I  desire  to  keep  at  the  greatest  distance 
from  all  the  affairs  of  Harvard."* 

Not  satisfied  with  these  exertions  to  embarrass  the 
government  of  the  College  at  home,  Cotton  Mather 
directed  his  endeavours  to  injure  its  interests  abroad. 
His  letter  In  January,  1718,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Elihu 
Yale.  Yale,  praising  him  for  his  "  overflowing  liberalities  to 
objects  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,"  and  extolling  his 
inclination  to  do  good  ;  "  bespeaks  his  favor  for  a  people 
who  are  sound  and  generous  Christians  and  Protestants, 
having  a  College  at  Saybrook,  Connecticut ; "  intimates 
to  him,  that  his  munificence  to  it  might  "  obtain  for 
it  the  name  of  Yale  College,  which  would  be  better 
than  the  name  of  sons  and  daughters.  A  seminary," 
he  adds,  "from  whence  a  good  people  expect  the  sup- 
ply of  all  their  synagogues ."f  From  the  temper  of 
his  mind  at  this  time,  it  cannot  be  questioned,  that  he 
meant  that  Mr.  Yale  should  understand,  that  Harvard 
College  was  not  such  a  seminary.  On  the  25th  of 
September  of  the  same  year,  the  College  in  Saybrook 
His  letter  having  then  received  the  name  of  Yale,  he  writes  to 
nor  Saiton-  Governor  Saltonstall,  of  Connecticut,  telling  him, 
"  that  Yale  has  done  very  little  in  proportion  to  what 
he  will  do,  when  once  he  finds  the  name  of  it ; "  and, 
taking  to  himself  the  credit  both  of  the  donation  and 
the  policy,  he  adds,  "  I  confess  it  was  a  great  and 
inexcusable  presumption  in  me  to  make  myself  so  far 
the  godfather  of  the  beloved  infant  as  to  propose  a 
name  for  it."  After  saying,  that  "  it  is  a  thousand 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXIV.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXV. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  227 

pities  the  dear  infant  should  be  strangled  in  the  birth   CHAPTER 

by  a  dissension,"  he  thus  utters  his  malediction  upon  '- — 

Harvard  College.  "  When  the  servants  of  God  meet 
at  jour  Commencement,  I  make  no  doubt,  that  they 
will  deliberate  on  the  interests  of  education  and  of 
religion,  and  not  suffer  an  interview  of  your  best  men 
to  evaporate  in  such  a  senseless,  useless,  noisy  imper- 
tinency,  as  it  used  to  be  with  us  at  Cambridge."* 

In  the  same  spirit  of  hostility,  and  in  a  like  under- 
hand way,  in  which  he  attempted  to  injure  Harvard 
College  in  the  case  of  Pierpont,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  he  attempted,  a  few  years  afterwards, 
to  turn  the  bounty  of  Thomas  Hollis  from  Cambridge 
into  the  New  Haven  channel.  The  facts  which  lead 
to  this  conclusion  claim  to  be  recapitulated  here,  as 
they  throw  a  strong  light  on  the  character  of  Hollis, 
and  place  in  an  interesting  point  of  view  the  strength 
of  his  affection  for  Harvard.  The  connexion  between 
Cotton  Mather  and  Yale  and  Saltonstall,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  favor  and  increased  patronage  of  New  Haven, 
is  sufficiently  established  by  the  letters  above  quoted. 
In  the  former  of  these  he  refers  Yale  to  "an  ex- 
cellent friend,  our  agent,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Dummer,  who 
has  been  a  tender,  prudent,  and  useful  patron  of  the 
infant  College  at  Connecticut,  and  who  will  doubtless 
wait  upon  you,  propose  to  you  and  concert  with  you 
the  methods  in  which  your  benignity  to  New  Haven 
may  be  best  expressed." 

The  bounty  of  Hollis  began  to  flow  towards  Har- 
vard College  in  the  year  1719.  In  the  succeeding 
year  its  friends  had  their  expectations  greatly  raised 
by  the  hopes  he  had  excited  of  founding  in  it  a  Pro- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVI. 


228  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  fessorship  of  Divinity,  and  of  more  extensive  bounties. 
XI'  In  September  of  this  year,  Mr.  Dummer,  the  agent 
for  New  Haven,  sent  for  Mr.  Hollis  to  meet  him  at 
a  coffee-house,  to  show  him  a  letter,  and  "  to  ac- 
quaint him  about  a  College  building  at  New  Haven, 
and  proposing  it  for  his  bounty."  Hollis  not  encourag- 
ing the  application,  Dummer,  in  the  February  follow- 
ing, brought  to  him  another  letter,  dated  the  July 
preceding,  "  handsomely  worded,  but  no  name  to  it, 
recommending  to  him  the  Collegiate  School  at  New 
Haven.  This  letter  came  enclosed  in  one  from  Gov- 
ernor Saltonstall,  of  Connecticut,  earnestly  pressing 
the  same  affair."  Hollis  being  neither  pleased  with 
the  mode,  the  object,  nor  the  agent  (for  he  appears  to 
have  had  no  great  respect  for  Dummer),  utterly  de- 
clined taking  the  subject  into  consideration.  Dum- 
mer and  his  underhand  mover  were  not,  however,  dis- 
couraged. In  July  and  August,  1721,  Hollis  received 
two  other  "  anonymous  letters  about  Yale  College." 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that,  although  one  of  these  letters 
came  under  cover  from  Governor  Saltonstall  of  Con- 
necticut, Hollis  believed  the  writer  to  be  in  Bos- 
ton, or  its  vicinity,  for  he  sends  the  letter  to  White, 
Treasurer  of  Harvard  College.  "  I  suppose  him," 
Hollis  writes,  "to  be  urged  on  to  it  by  your  agent 
Dummer.  I  inclose  it  to  you.  I  have  no  inclination 
to  be  diverted  from  my  projected  design.  If  you 
know  the  author,  pray  let  him  know  so.  I  have  told 
Dummer  the  same."  *  When  we  consider,  that  Gov- 
ernor Saltonstall  would  hardly  have  consented  to  have 
been  the  medium  of  an  anonymous  letter,  unless  he 
had  known  the  author  to  be  of  some  weight  of  char- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVII. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  229 


XL 


acter,  —  how  unlikely  it  is,  that  such  a  person  in  CHAPTER 
Connecticut  could  have  had  a  motive  for  concealment 
in  respect  to  such  an  application  to  Hollis,  —  the 
connexion  now  established  between  Mather,  Salton- 
stall,  and  Dummer,  on  this  very  subject  of  "  benig- 
nity to  New  Haven,"  —  Mather's  avowed,  new-born 
affection  for  that  "  dear  infant  Yale,"  and  his  disgust 
with  Harvard,  —  the  many  motives  Mather  must  have 
had  to  conceal  any  attempt  of  his  to  turn  the  bounty 
of  Hollis  away  from  Harvard, —  the  ceaseless  activity 
which  characterized  him,  and  his  capacity  to  resort  to 
underhand  measures  to  gratify  his  passions ;  the  opin- 
ion, that  he  was  the  author  of  this  attempt  is  forced 
upon  the  mind  by  a  powerful  concurrence  of  circum- 
stances. He  probably  persuaded  himself,  that  it  was 
"  an  essay  to  serve  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  to  beat 
Satan  out  of  his  quarters,"  *  as  he  denominated  the 
College.  Nor  was  he  the  only  clergyman  engaged  in 
the  design,  of  turning  the  bounties  of  Hollis  away 
from  Harvard.  Thomas  Prince,  an  alumnus,  and  min- 
ister of  the  Old  South  Church,  in  Boston,  persuaded 
himself,  also,  of  the  wisdom  or  piety  of  that  project. 
About  this  period  he  wrote  a  letter,  to  be  communi- 
cated to  Hollis,  urging  him  to  transfer  his  bounty  to 
the  library  of  the  Old  South  Church,  and  suggesting 
to  him  by  way  of  motive,  that  "  we  did  not  know 
into  what  hands  the  great  library  at  Harvard  College 
might  fall,  but  that  this  private  one  would  be  secure  to 
posterity."!  The  noble  and  faithful  Hollis  was  indig- 
nant at  the  proposition.  "  1  was  disgusted,"  says  he, 
"  at  the  suggestion,  and  refused  to  read  on,  and  di- 
rected Prince  to  be  informed,  that  I  disliked  his 
motion,  and  would  not  be  concerned." 

*  See  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI.  p.  329. 
f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVIII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Benefactions  of  Thomas  Hollis.  —  Their  Origin,  Motive,  and  Ex- 
tent. —  His  elevated  Catholicism.  —  Reasons  for  examining  a  Part 
of  his  Bounties  with  Minuteness.  —  Pretensions  of  Increase  Math- 
er in  Relation  to  them  examined.  —  Commencement  of  his  Do- 
nations. —  Origin  and  first  Form  of  his  Professorship  of  Di- 
vinity.—  Accepted  and  acted  upon  by  the  Corporation.  —  Edward 
Wigglesworth  chosen  Professor.  —  New  England  Scheme  of  the 
Professorship  of  Divinity  transmitted  to  Mr.  Hollis.  —  How  modi- 
fied by  him.  —  Proceedings  of  the  Overseers.  —  Debates  on  the 
amended  Scheme.  —  Opposition  of  Chief  Justice  Sewall.  —  New 
Amendments  proposed.  —  The  Corporation  choose  Wigglesworth  a 
second  Time.  —  His  Orthodoxy,  how  tested.  —  Discrepancy  of  the 
Test  with  the  Statutes  of  Hollis.  —  A  written  Obligation  to  con- 
form to  his  Statutes  demanded  of  the  Corporation  by  Hollis.  — 
They  hesitate  about  transmitting  it.  —  Patience  of  Hollis  exhausted. 

—  He  peremptorily  demands  it.  —  A  written  Obligation  transmitted. 

—  Liberal  Character  of  Hollis  vindicated. 

OUR  narrative  having  arrived  at  the  period  when 
the  first  Hollis  commenced  his  donations  to  Harvard 
College,  gratitude  demands  they  should  be  enumerated 
and  acknowledged.  One  portion  of  his  bounty  having 
been  forced  into  the  service  of  ecclesiastical  contro- 
versy, and  the  motives  and  principle  of  his  charity 
called  in  question,  a  minute  investigation  and  a  strict 
historical  statement  of  it  will  be  given,  in  justice  to 
the  memory  of  the  greatest  of  the  early  benefactors 
of  the  College. 

In  the  literary  horizon  of  Harvard  the  name  of 
Hollis  is  applicable,  not  to  a  single  star,  but  to  a 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  231 

constellation.     Six  individuals*  bearing  it  are  entitled  CHAPTER 

XII 

to  rank  high  in  the  list  of  its  benefactors.     Of  these,  

the  first  and  greatest  was  Thomas  Hollis,  who  was 
born  in  1659,  and  died  in  1731.  Being  educated 
by  his  father  in  the  Baptist  persuasion,  he  adhered 
to  it  through  life  with  invincible  attachment.  The 
descendant  of  a  family  long  eminent  for  piety  and 
benevolence,  he  soon  gave  evidence  of  being  heir 
of  the  faith  and  virtues,  which  had  distinguished 
his  ancestry.  His  attention  had  been  directed 
towards  Harvard  College  as  early  as  1690,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  being  named  one  of  the  trustees  in 
the  will  of  his  maternal  uncle,  Robert  Thorner,  in 
which  it  had  been  made  the  object  of  a  noble  be- 
quest. Dr.  Mather,  President  of  the  College,  being 
about  that  time  in  England,  Hollis  communicated  to 
him  an  account  of  Thorner's  legacy,  with  a  copy  of 
the  clause  containing  it,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
registered  in  the  archives  of  the  College.  He  soon 
after  named  it  as  the  object  of  a  legacy  in  his  own 
will,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  by  Henry 
Newman,  the  agent  of  the  Corporation  in  England, 
to  President  Leverett,  dated  the  26th  of  June,  1710. 
Newman  had  been  directed  by  Leverett  to  make 
inquiries  concerning  Sir  Robert  Thorner's  legacy.  In 
this  letter,  after  acknowledging  the  full  satisfaction  he 
had  received  from  the  trustees  on  that  subject,  he 
adds,  "  Mr.  Thomas  Hollis,  one  of  the  trustees,  at  the 
Cross  Daggers,  in  Little  Minories,  desires  his  will 
may  be  inquired  for  after  his  decease."  Thus  careful 
was  Hollis,  that  the  College  should  reap  the  benefit 
of  his  own  and  his  uncle's  bounty,  and  thus  early 
did  his  friendship  for  it  commence. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXTX. 


232  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       After   this    time  the  records   of   the   College  indi- 

! cate  no  intercourse  with   Hollis,  until  the  spring  of 

first  dona-  1719,  when,  having  watched  the  course  of  the  semi- 
nary for  many  years,  and  satisfied  himself,  that  the 
views  of  the  Corporation  were  catholic  and  liberal, 
he  resolved  to  be  the  executor  of  his  own  will,  and 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  the  result  of  his 
own  benevolence.  In  that  year  he  made  his  first 
remittance  of  books  for  the  College  Library,  and  of 
moneys  "  for  the  assistance  of  pious  young  men,  who 
were  destined  for  the  ministry."  The  motives  to  his 
bounty  are  thus  stated  by  him,  in  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Colman,  whom  he  selected  as  the  chief  medium  of 
his  communications.*  "After  forty  years'  diligent 
application  to  mercantile  business,  my  God,  whom  I 
serve,  has  mercifully  succeeded  my  endeavours,  and, 
with  my  increase,  inclined  my  heart  to  a  proportional 
distribution.  I  have  credited  the  promise,  *  He  that 
giveth  to  the  poor,  lendeth  to  the  Lord,'  and  have 
found  it  verified  in  this  life." 

From  this  time  his  bounty  flowed  towards  the  Col- 
lege in  a  continuous  stream,  enlarging  its  beneficiary 
fund,  increasing  its  library,  and  at  last  concentrating 
in  the  establishment  of  two  Professorships,  one  of 
Divinity,  the  other  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philos- 
ophy, and  amounting  in  the  whole  to  nearly  five  thou- 
sand pounds  Massachusetts  currency,  not  including 
various  contributions  to  the  Library,  numerous,  select, 
and  costly;  a  munificence,  in  point  of  value  and 
amount,  then  without  example  in  this  country,  and 
which,  considering  the  value  of  money  at  the  time, 
bears  an  honorable  comparison  with  that  of  any  sub- 
sequent period. 

*  January  28th,  1721. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  233 

"  The  free    and   catholic  spirit  of  the    seminary,"   CHAPTER 
says    Dr.    Colman,   "  took  his  generous   heart."     Al-  '. — 

,  ,,    .  .  -..  ,          His  mo- 

though  some  of  its  superintending  powers,  at  that  tiyes 
period,  had  little  claim  to  this  character,  yet,  from 
the  influences  which  predominated,  it  was  more  de- 
serving of  that  title  than  any  of  its  contemporaries, 
either  in  Europe  or  America.  This  was  perceived 
by  Hollis,  who,  during  life,  through  good  report  and 
evil  report,  adhered  to  his  predilection  for  Harvard. 

The  religious  spirit  of  Hollis  was  elevated  and 
comprehensive.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  charity 
more  truly  regulated  by  the  principles  of  Christianity, 
than  that  evidenced  by  the  whole  tenor  of  his  corre- 
spondence with  the  College  and  its  officers  ;  "  envying 
not ;  vaunting  not ;  seeking  not  its  own ;  not  easily 
provoked  ;  rejoicing  in  the  truth ;  believing  all  things  ; 
hoping  all  things  ;  enduring  all  things." 

Attached  to  his  Baptist  faith,  with  a  firmness  which 
admitted  neither  concealment  nor  compromise,  he 
selected  for  the  object  of  his  extraordinary  bounties, 
an  institution,  in  which  he  knew  those  of  his  faith 
were  regarded  with  dread  by  some,  and  with  detesta- 
tion by  others,  and  where  he  had  reason  to  think,  as 
he  averred,  that  the  very  portrait  of  a  Baptist,  though 
of  a  benefactor,  would  be  the  subject  of  insult.  Yet 
he  suffered  neither  his  affection  nor  his  charity  to  fail, 
being  actuated  by  the  elevated  motive,  that  it  was 
more  catholic  and  free  in  its  religious  sentiment  than 
any  other  institution  existing  at  that  period.  In 
establishing  conditions  for  enjoying  the  benefit  of  his 
bounty,  he  claimed  no  concession,  he  made  no  ex- 
clusion. He  required  only,  that  the  Baptist  faith 
should  not  be  deemed  a  disqualification  for  partak- 
ing his  bounty,  or  for  being  a  candidate  for  his  Pro- 

VOL.  i.  30 


234  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   fessorship.     In  order  to  place  an  insurmountable  bar- 

XII 

!__  rier  against  the  imposition  of  artificial  creeds,  woven 

in  words  of  men's  devising,  he  made  the  simple  pro- 
vision, that  the  only  articles  of  faith,  to  which  the 
Professor  on  the  Divinity  foundation,  which  he  estab- 
lished, should  be  required  to  subscribe,  was,  "  his 
belief  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments are  the  only  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  manners." 
Thus  did  this  noble  and  generous  spirit  break  away 
from  the  thraldom  of  sects.  It  is  delightful  to  con- 
template a  benefactor  thus  divested  of  all  that  is  mean, 
and  vain,  and  selfish  ;  opening  the  hand  of  his  charity 
without  the  dictation  of  party  spirit ;  guiding  himself 

Hia  de-       by  the  oracles  of  God,  and  not  by  the  inventions  and 

voted  char-       *,  .  .          . 

ily-  worldly  devices  of  men  ;  fixed  in  his  own  faith,  yet 

candid  in  judging,  and  charitable  in  construing,  the 
faith  of  others.  "  I  love  them,"  he  writes  in  a  letter 
to  Dr.  Colman,*  "that  show,  by  their  W7orks,  that 
they  love  Jesus  Christ.  While  I  bear  with  others,  who 
are  sincere  in  their  more  confined  charity,  I  would 
that  they  would  bear  with  me  in  my  more  enlarged. 
We  search  after  truth.  We  see  but  in  part.  Happy 
the  man,  who  reduces  his  notions  in  a  constant  train 
of  practice.  Charity  is  the  grace,  which  now  adorns 
and  prepares  for  glory.  May  it  always  abide  in  your 
breast  and  mine,  and  grow  more  and  more." 

The   several  donations  of  this  benefactor  demand, 
as  has  been  intimated,  an  exact  statement,  not  only 

on  account  of  their  extent  and  extraordinarv  character, 

>i 

but  from  the  misapprehensions  which  have  arisen  con- 
cerning some  of  them.  Singular  as  is  the  fact,  a 
portion  of  his  bounty  has  been  made  the  occasion  of 

•  August  1st,  1720. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  235 

an  attempt  to  give  a  party  bias  to  the  institution,  and   CHAPTER 

XII 

to  introduce  an  examination  into  articles  of  faith  as  a  ! — 

condition  of  office.  One  of  the  most  catholic  and  lib- 
eral of  men  has  been  made  to  appear  in  the  light  of  a 
sectarian  to  some,  and  of  a  bigot  to  others.  A 
thorough  investigation  of  the  order  and  nature  of  his 
benefactions  is,  therefore,  equally  due  to  gratitude  and 
justice. 

As  already  stated,  *  the  first  donation  of  Mr.  Hollis 
was  made  in  the  year  1719.  It  was  transmitted  to 
Mr.  Craddock,  in  articles  to  be  sold  on  his  account, 
and  the  proceeds  to  be  paid  over  to  Mr.  Leverett, 
President  of  Harvard  College.  The  product,  amount- 
ing to  about  three  hundred  pounds  Massachusetts 
currency,  was  paid,  according  to  this  order,  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  College,  and  the  thanks  of  the  Cor- 
poration were  given  to  Mr.  Craddock,  "  for  his  gen- 
erous care  of  managing  the  donation  of  Mr.  Hollis,  and 
not  charging  commissions."  On  the  same  day  a  vote 
passed  that  body,  granting  the  interest  of  Mr.  Hollis's 
donation,  and  of  another  by  Mr.  Hulton,  to  the  son  of 
Cotton  Mather,  for  his  support  in  College,  f  "  pursuant 
to  the  desire  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  his 
grandfather,  who  was  instrumental  in  procuring  these 
donations."  This  claim  of  Dr.  Mather,  "  founded  on 
his  instrumentality,"  was  immediately  made  the  sub- 
ject of  a  question.  President  Leverett,  who  kept  a 
duplicate  of  the  records,  thus  states  the  counterpart 
in  his  Diary.  Of  Hulton's  legacy  he  says,  that  "  Dr. 
Mather  was,"  and  of  Hollis's,  that  "  he  might  be, 
instrumental  in  procuring  it,"  intimating  an  uncer- 
tainty, without  any  offensive  contradiction. 

*  See  above,  p.  232.  f  College  Records,  Vol.  IV.  p.  65. 


236  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER       When  Dr.  Benjamin  Colman  informed  Hollis  of  this 

! —  claim  set  up  by  Dr.   Mather,  for  the  income  of  his 

fund,  Hollis,  in  reply,*  expresses  his  surprise  and 
sorrow,  that  Dr.  Mather's  grandson  should  need  the 
aid  of  his  bounty ;  and  adds,  "  I  have  nothing  to 
object,  rather  glad  he  is  first  preferred."  Concerning 
Dr.  Mather's  "  instrumentality  "  in  obtaining  it  he  is 
silent,  but  immediately  proceeds  to  state  the  real 
Hoiiis;s  source  of  his  good  will  towards  the  College.  "  I 

statement  .  ° 

concerning  have  had  many  thoughts  of  showing  some  liberality 
to  it  ever  since  the  death  of  my  honored  uncle,  Robert 
Thorner,  who  made  me  one  of  his  trustees."  By 
thus  carrying  back  the  origin  of  his  good  intentions 
to  a  time  antecedent  to  any  possible  influence  of  Dr. 
Mather,  he  obviously  intended  to  exclude  any  ac- 
knowledgment of  it.  He  then  proceeds  to  state  the 
actual  intercourse  between  them.  "  When  Dr.  Mather 
was  in  England,  I  gave  him  a  minute  out  of  the  said 
will  to  register  in  your  College ;  but  the  payment  is 
yet  very  distant,  many  years.  I  hope  it  will  be  hon- 
estly transmitted  in  the  time."  Delicacy  did  not 
permit  Hollis  to  say  more.  What  he  does  say,  how- 
ever, is  sufficient  to  show  the  groundlessness  of  Dr. 
Mather's  claim  to  instrumentality  in  procuring  his 
bounty,  and  his  indisposition  to  recognise  it.  Not- 
withstanding this,  Cotton  Mather,  in  the  year  1724, 
at  a  time  when  the  benefactions  of  Thomas  Hollis 
had  already  become,  from  their  number  and  amount, 
the  objects  of  general  gratitude  and  admiration,  in 
writing  the  life  of  his  father,  thus  boldly  asserts  him 
to  have  been  the  moving  cause  of  these  benefactions. 
"  It  was  his  (Increase  Mather's)  acquaintance  with,  and 

*  Hollis's  letter  to  Colman,  January  14th,  1720. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  237 

his  proposal  to  that  good-spirited  man,  and  lover  of    CHAPTER 

all  good  men,  Mr.  Thomas  Hollis,  that  introduced  his  '. — 

benefactions  unto  that  (Harvard)   College ;  to  which  Mother's 

...  111  i  n  -i  i     statement. 

his  incomparable  bounty  has  anon  flowed  unto  such 
a  degree,  as  to  render  him  the  greatest  benefactor  it 
ever  had  in  the  world."*  An  assertion,  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  wholly  gratuitous,  but  in  character 
with  Cotton  Mather's  self-glorifying  spirit,  f 

On  the  14th  of  the  succeeding  April,  J  Hollis  trans-  Seconddo- 
mitted  his  second  donation  to  the  College  Treasurer,  Hoiiis. 
amounting  to  about  seven  hundred  pounds  currency. 
The  object  of  this  and  his  former  bounty  had  been 
previously  stated  by  him  in  his  letters  to  Colman,^ 
to  be  "  the  maintenance  and  education  of  pious  young 
men  for  the   ministry,  who  are  poor  in  this  world." 
In  this  letter  he  intimates,  that  his  gifts  may  be  in- 
creased, and  inquires  "  in  what  manner  he  might  best 
express  his  gift,  so  as  to  answer  his  intention  to  assist 
poor  and  pious  young  men    in   their  studies  for  the 
ministry."     Both  branches  of  the  College  government 
were  naturally  impressed    by   the   amount,   and  kind 
spirit  indicated   by   these  remittances,  and   with   the 
propriety  of  fully  expressing  their  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments.    On  the  24th  of  May,  the  Corporation  voted  corpora- 
their  thanks  to  him  ;  and  on  the  23d  of  the  succeed-  overseers 
ing   June    the  Overseers   appointed   a  Committee   to  Hoiii«. 
prepare  a  letter  of  thanks,  which,  being  reported  and 
approved,    they   ordered,    on  the   6th  of  the  ensuing 
July,  to  be  signed  and  transmitted  to  him.  || 

Before  these    proceedings   had   reached   Hollis,  he 
had  addressed  another  letter   to    Colman,    dated  the 

*  Life  of  Increase  Mather,  by  his  Son,  p.  170. 

t  See  above,  p.  135.  J  1720.  §  January  14th,  1720. 

||  Overseers'  Records.  —  Leverett's   Manuscript,   pp.  174,    178. 


238  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  1st  of  August,  stating  in  general  terms  his  inten- 
tions relative  to  his  donations ;  reserving  to  himself, 
during  life,  the  nomination  of  those  students,  who 
were  to  receive  the  income  of  his  bounty,  and  after 
his  death  devolving  that  duty  on  the  Corporation  of  the 
College.  In  this  letter  also,  he  declares  his  prefer- 
ence of  adult  baptism,  and  his  spirit  of  catholic  com- 
munion with  all ;  and  expresses  the  hope,  "  that,  while 
he  bears  with  others  in  their  more  confined,  that  they 
would  bear  with  him  in  his  more  enlarged,  charity." 

The  thanks  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  seem  to 
have  been  couched  in  terms  sufficiently  laudatory ;  for, 
in  a  subsequent  letter  to  Colman,  he  says,  "  they 
made  him  blush,  that  he  is  weary  of  their  thanks, 
and  begs  they  might  cease." 

This  intervention  of  the  Overseers  alarmed  Hollis. 
He  well  understood  the  prevailing  bigotry  of  that 
board,  and  he  had,  by  the  advice  of  Colman,  specially 
intrusted  the  Corporation  with  the  distribution  of  his 
funds.  He  inquires,  therefore,  in  a  letter  dated  the 
10th  of  September,  1720,  apparently  with  some  anx- 
iety, "  whether  that  body  will  have  any  voice  in  the 
nomination  of  his  beneficiaries."  * 

Before  this  period,  Hollis  had  entertained  no  idea 
of  establishing  a  Professorship  of  Divinity.  His  plan 
of  bounty  had  been  limited  to  that  most  useful  and 
effective  of  all  endowments,  the  establishing  funds 
for  the  education  of  poor,  pious,  and  able  young  men 
for  the  ministry.  This  is  evident  from  his  next  letter 
to  Colman  and  Leverett,  dated  the  23d  September, 
1720,  by  which  it  appears,  that  they  had  "  proposed 
to  him  to  establish  a  suitable  stipend  for  a  Divinity 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XL. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  239 

Professor,    to    read    lectures    in  the   Hall   to   the  stu-    CHAPTER 

dents."     In  his   reply,    he   expresses  his    surprise   at — . 

their  deficiency  in  this  respect,  and  requests  them  "  to 
explain  more  largely  that  matter  to  him,  and  to  tell 
him  how  much  will  be  called  an  honorable  stipend."* 

Without  waiting  for  an  answer  to  these  inquiries,  Divinity 

Hollis,  on  the  14th  of  February,  1721,  executed  for-  ship  found- 
ed by 
mal  "  orders  "  relative  to  the  moneys  he  had  sent  over 

to  New  England.  This  instrument  is  the  true  foun- 
dation of  that  Professorship.  In  it  he  establishes  that 
office  in  the  College,  and  provides  for  the  support 
of  his  Professor.  And,  as  it  is  indicative  of  his  pure 
intent  and  catholic  spirit,  the  original  document  is 
subjoined,  as  it  now  exists  in  the  archives  of  the 
College,  subscribed  by  his  hand.f 

The  foundation  of  the  Professorship  is  in  these 
words.  "  I  order  and  appoint  a  Professor  of  Divinity, 
to  read  lectures  in  the  Hall  of  the  College  unto  the 
students  ;  the  said  Professor  to  be  nominated  and  ap- 
pointed from  time  to  time  by  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College ;  and  that  the  Treasurer 
pay  to  him  forty  pounds  per  annum  for  his  service, 
and  that  when  choice  is  made  of  a  fitting  person,  to 
be  recommended  to  me  for  my  approbation,  if  I  be 
yet  living." 

The  instrument  then  proceeds  to  appoint  a  com- 
pensation to  the  Treasurer  for  the  care  of  his  funds ; 
and  to  specify  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  remain- 
ing income  of  his  bounty,  in  terms  the  most  liberal  and 
free  from  all  words  of  sectarian  import ;  the  only 
allusion  to  religious  opinion  being,  that  no  "  candidate 
should  be  refused  on  account  of  his  belief  and  practice 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLI.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XLII. 


240  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   of   adult    baptism."      Being   a   Baptist    himself,    and 

XII 

'. — -  being  about  to  found  a  Professorship  of  Divinity,  and 
to  extend,  in  other  ways,  a  helping  hand  to  an  in- 
stitution under  the  influence  of  men,  with  whom  the 
divine  right  of  infant  baptism  was  an  essential  article 
of  their  creed  ;  and  making  on  his  part  no  condition 
that  Baptists  should  be  preferred,  it  was  a  fixed  pur- 
pose of  his  mind,  that  Baptists,  on  account  of  their 
faith,  should  not  be  excluded  from  any  of  the  advan- 
tages of  his  bounty.  This  fixed  intent  appears  from 
the  tenor  of  all  his  letters,  and  was  the  extent  and 
the  limit  of  the  influence  of  religious  opinion  on  his 
mind. 

iu  unre-  Such  was  the  foundation  of  the  Hollis  Professorship 
nature.  of  Divinity,  as  it  was  first  conceived  and  laid  by  this 
eminent  benefactor ;  with  no  words  of  technical  or 
theological  art ;  with  nothing  mysterious,  equivocal, 
restrictive,  or  doctrinal,  prescribed  by  way  of  qualifi- 
cation of  the  Professor  or  students. 

Neither  does  it  appear  from  any  word  or  intimation 
in  his  correspondence,  that  he  asked  or  contemplated 
any  other  rule  or  restriction,  except  that  Baptists 
should  be  regarded,  in  relation  to  the  application  of 
his  funds,  on  the  same  footing  as  other  denomina- 
tions of  Christians.  He  inquires  of  Colman,  "  how 
much  will  be  called  an  honorable  stipend  for  his  Pro- 
fessor," and  asks  him  to  "  explain  more  largely  that 
matter  "  (the  want  of  a  Divinity  Professor)  "  to  him." 
He  had  indeed  several  times  inquired  of  Mr.  Colman, 
"  in  what  manner  he  had  best  express  his  gift."  In 
every  instance  this  inquiry  had  relation,  as  appears  by 
his  letters,  to  the  income  of  his  funds,  intended  for  the 
benefit  of  "  poor  and  pious  young  men."  His  letters 
bear  traces  of  his  belief  in  those  general  doctrines,  in 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  241 

which  all  the  prevailing  sects  of  Christians  throughout   CHAPTER 

Christendom  at  that  day  concurred  ;   but  they  contain  . ' . 

not  a  word  indicative  of  a  design  or  desire  to  use  the 
power  his  wealth  conferred,  to  establish  his  belief  as 
a  standard  for  future  times. 

The  course  of  the  bounty  of  Thomas  Hollis  has  been 
thus  traced  to  the  first  form  in  which  his  Professorship 
of  Divinity  appeared,  and  the  result  has  shown,  that 
the  nature  of  the  foundation  was  consonant  to  the 
well-known  characteristics  of  his  mind,  —  free  from 
bigotry,  —  of  a  comprehensive  charity,  in  the  spirit  of 
which  he  submitted,  in  unqualified  terms,  the  selection 
of  his  Professor,  and  the  conduct  of  his  Professorship, 
to  the  decision  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the 
Corporation,  for  the  time  being,  without  other  rule 
than  such  as  from  time  to  time  their  own  consciences 
and  views  of  the  interests  of  the  College  might  dictate. 

It  now  becomes  a  curious  and  interesting  subject 
of  investigation,  how  this  unshackled,  free  condition 
of  the  first  foundation  of  the  Hollis  Professorship  of 
Divinity  was  attempted  to  be  changed ;  how  these 
attempts  were  met  by  the  generous  and  catholic  spirit 
of  Hollis ;  and  by  what  means  words  were  introduced 
into  formal  statutes  subsequently  signed  by  Hollis, 
and  a  contemporaneous  construction  of  them  given, 
so  as  to  make  this  most  liberal  of  all  minds  to  ap- 
pear in  after  times,  as  a  founder  of  a  religious  test  in 
an  institution  into  which  such  test  had  never  been 
introduced,  and  but  once  attempted  and  then  rejected ; 
and,  what  is  more  wonderful  still,  how  such  a  course 
of  proceeding  was  pursued,  as  to  make  Hollis  appar- 
ently acquiesce  in  such  a  contemporaneous  construc- 
tion of  these  introduced  terms,  as  should  allow  a 
belief  in  the  divine  right  of  infant  baptism  to  be  an  ex- 

VOL.  i.  31 


242  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  amined  and  required  article  of  a  Professor's  faith, 
-  under  statutes  in  which  he  had  expressly  provided,  that 
the  belief  his  Professor  should  declare,  was,  "  that  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  the  only 
perfect  rule  of  faith  and  manners,"  and  under  "orders 
concerning  the  disposition  of  his  moneys  sent  to  New 
England,  that  none  should  be  refused  on  account  of  his 
belief  and  practice  of  adult  baptism." 

The  records  of  the  College,  illustrated  by  contem- 
porary documents  and  well-known  history,  will  render 
this  investigation  both  easy  and  satisfactory. 

Proceed-         The  "  orders,"  dated  the  14th  of  February,  were 

ings  of  the  •" 

corpora-      accompanied    by   letters   from    Mr.    Hollis    and    Mr. 

tion  relative  r 

to  the  Di-   Neal.     The  letters  are  acknowledged    to  have    been 

vmity  Pro- 
fessorship,   communicated  at  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  on  the 

25th  of  April,  1721,  and  "to  relate  to  the  setting 
up  a  Professorship  of  Divinity  at  the  College,  and 
desiring  some  further  advice  and  information  in  that 
affair."  As  these  letters  are  missing,  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Corporation  are  the  only  means  of  ascer- 
taining the  advice  and  information  they  sought.  On 
receiving  these  communications  a  committee  was 
immediately  appointed  "  to  prepare  a  draft  of  such 
information  in  order  to  its  being  forwarded."  On 
the  2d  of  May,  1721,  the  draft  was  reported,  ac- 
cepted, and  ordered  to  be  transmitted  to  Mr.  Hollis 
and  Mr.  Neal.  On  the  21st  of  June  this  report  was 
spread  at  large  on  the  records  of  the  Corporation, 
under  the  title  of  "  minutes  directory,  in  answer  to 
Mr.  Hollis  his  letters."  *  In  these,  "  thanks  were 
given  for  his  bounty ;  his  candor  and  confidence  in 
leaving  his  institution  open  and  alterable,  acknowl- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLIII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  243 

edged ;  various  prudential  arrangements  of  his  funds   CHAPTER 
suggested  ;  and  rules   relative  to  the  lectures  of  the 


xi  r. 


Professor,  and  studies  on  his  foundation,  proposed ;  but 
not  one  word  indicative  of  a  design  to  give  a  sectarian 
bias,  or  to  establish  a  religious  test,  was  introduced. 
The  only  expressions  having  a  tendency  towards  a  re- 
ligious qualification  are  conceived  in  a  noble  spirit  of 
liberality,  consentaneous  with  that  of  which  Mr.  Hollis 
had  set  the  example,  and  worthy  of  the  men  who  then 
constituted  the  Corporation ;  such  as  Leverett,  Col- 
man,  Wadsworth,  and  Appleton.  "  As  to  the  Pro- 
fessor's being  in  communion  with  a  particular  church, 
we  judge  it,"  say  they,  "  highly  expedient ;  and,  as 
to  the  limitation  of  that  communion,  we  leave  it  to  Mr. 
Hollis." 

The  next  step  taken   by  the   Corporation,  was  to  They 

i  T»      c  •  •  f  '  choose 

elect  a  Professor,  in  strict  conformity  with  the  "  or-  wiggiea- 
ders  "  of  Mr.  Hollis,  and  with  the  most  marked  so-  fessor- 
lemnity  and  formality.  A  special  meeting  of  the 
board  was  held  on  the  28th  of  June,  1721.  No  other 
business  was  transacted.  Six  of  the  seven  members 
of  which  the  board  was  composed  were  present. 
The  question  of  proceeding  to  elect  a  Professor  to 
be  presented  to  Mr.  Hollis,  was  formally  proposed 
and  voted.  Ballots  were  brought  in,  and  Edward 
Wigglesworth  was  accordingly  declared,  and  his  name 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Hollis,  as  "  the  Professor 
of  Divinity,  chosen  upon  his  institution."*  The  exact 
formality,  with  which  this  record  is  marked,  becomes 
important  to  be  noted,  in  consequence  of  subsequent 
proceedings. 

Thus  far  the  Corporation  had  pursued  the  measures 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLIV. 


244  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  prescribed  in  the  letters  and  "  orders  "  of  Mr.  Hollis. 
They  had  chosen  a  Professor.  They  had  ordered 
"  advice  and  information  "  to  be  transmitted  to  him. 
No  record  of  the  Corporation  or  the  Overseers  indi- 
cates, that  "a  scheme  for  the  Professorship  of  Divinity" 
had  been  asked  for  by  Mr.  Hollis,  or  been  submitted 
to  the  consideration  of  either  board,  or  been  autho- 
rized to  be  transmitted  to  him.  It  is  not  therefore 
without  surprise,  that,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1721, 
Mr.  Hollis  is  found  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  five 
letters  (dated  the  5th  of  April,  the  5th  of  May,  and 
the  6th,  9th,  and  26th  of  June)  from  Mr.  Colman 
and  Mr.  Leverett,  accompanied  by  "  a  scheme  for  the 
Professor's  work." 

The  motives  which  induced  Mr.  Colman  and  Mr. 
Leverett  thus  to  change  the  "  advice  and  informa- 
tion," authorized  and  voted  by  the  Corporation  in  the 
"  minutes  directory  in  answer  to  Mr.  Hollis  his  let- 
ters," into  "  a  scheme  of  a  Professorship,"  no  docu- 
ments indicate.  It  is,  however,  one  of  the  sympto- 
matic circumstances  attending  the  early  correspondence 
concerning  this  Divinity  Professorship,  that,  while  the 
other  letters  of  Mr.  Hollis  to  Mr.  Colman  are  appa- 
rently complete  and  well  preserved,  those  between  the 
28th  of  January  and  the  8th  of  August,  1721,  the 
period  of  the  early  stage  of  that  negotiation,  have  dis- 
appeared as  well  as  all  those  written  by  Neal,  Colman, 
and  Leverett.  Yet  it  is  apparent,  that  many  very  im- 
portant and  critical  letters  must  have  passed.*  We  are 
left,  therefore,  necessarily  to  draw  such  conclusions  con- 
cerning the  motives  of  this  policy,  as  the  known  rela- 
tions of  the  religious  sects  of  the  time,  and  subsequent 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLV. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  245 

unquestionable  occurrences  authorize.     At  this  period   CHAPTER 

XII 

of  colonial  history  the  sect  of  the  Baptists  was  pecu-  1 

liarly  obnoxions  to  that  division  of  the  Congregational  aiarmand 
church,  which  comprised  the  strictest  adherents  to 
the  Calvinistic  doctrines.  To  them  the  fact,  that  an 
avowed  member  of  the  Baptist  persuasion  was  about 
to  establish  a  Professorship  of  Divinity  in  Harvard 
University  was  a  subject  of  great  anxiety  ;  but,  when 
they  ascertained  that  Mr.  Hollis  had  reserved  to 
himself  the  right  of  establishing,  during  his  life,  or 
by  his  will,  such  rules  relative  to  his  Professorship, 
as  he  might  deem  proper,  their  apprehensions  were 
raised  to  the  highest  point  of  excitement  and  alarm. 
It  is  apparent,  that  the  Corporation  of  the  College 
did  not  participate  in  these  fears,  from  the  confi- 
dence their  language  indicates  in  Mr.  Hollis,  and 
their  hitherto  exact  acquiescence  in  the  course  of 
measures  he  had  marked  out  in  his  "  orders  "  of  the 
14th  of  February,  1721.  But  the  members  of  the 
Corporation  themselves  were,  on  certain  points,  as 
we  have  seen,  deemed  by  some  of  the  stricter  Cal- 
vinists  little  better  than  heretics,  and  by  others  had 
been  denounced  for  "  apostasy." 

The  acceptance  of  Hollis's  Professorship  and  ap- 
proval of  his  Professor,  did  not  exclusively  depend  on 
the  votes  of  the  Corporation.  The  concurrence  of  the 
Overseers  was  requisite  in  respect  to  both.  The 
strength  of  the  sectarian  spirit,  then  existing  in  that 
board,  was  known  to  the  Corporation ;  and  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  that  the  course  of  measures  they 
subsequently  adopted  was  intended  to  remove  or 
diminish  the  apprehensions,  which  the  circumstances 
attending  the  foundation  of  this  Professorship  had  ex- 


246  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   cited    among   the   Overseers.      New    "  orders "  were 

XII. 

-  therefore  sought  from  Mr.  Holiis,  couched  in  lan- 
Engiand  guage  more  acceptable  to  the  adherents  of  the  Cal- 
viriistic  faith.  Of  the  "  orders "  of  the  14th  of 
February  preceding,  nothing  is  said  in  the  records 
either  of  the  Corporation  or  the  Overseers.  They 
would  not,  probably,  have  been  preserved  among  the 
archives  of  the  College,  if  they  had  not  been  connected 
with  other  funds  besides  those  appropriated  to  his 
Professorship.  The  "  advice  and  information  "  re- 
quested by  Mr.  Holiis  was  construed  to  authorize  the 
transmission  of  a  formal  draft  of  "  rules  and  orders  " 
for  the  Professorship.  These  were  prepared,  doubt- 
less, with  great  care  and  consultation,  and,  being  sent 
out,  were  denominated  by  Mr.  Holiis,  "  the  New 
England  scheme  for  the  Professor's  work."  Of  the 
origin,  preparation,  or  transmission  of  this  "  scheme," 
nothing  is  said  in  any  record ;  and  its  existence  would 
now  be  unknown,  were  it  not  for  letters,  and  subse- 
quent documents,  transmitted  by  Mr.  Holiis.  The 
advantage  of  making  the  first  draft  of  an  instrument 
of  this  kind  is  very  obvious.  It  gave  an  opportunity 
to  introduce  such  terms,  as,  being  used  sometimes  in 
a  technical  and  sometimes  in  a  popular  sense,  would 
Policy  of  render  it  difficult  for  Mr.  Holiis  to  perceive  the  con- 

the  mea-  ••-,-,  -,  i  •  c   i 

sure.  struction  intended  to  be  given  to  them  ;  or,  if  he 
perceived  it,  would  render  it  even  more  difficult  for 
him  either  to  erase,  or  so  to  qualify,  as  to  preclude  the 
sectarian  spirit  from  evading  them.  That  such  was  the 
policy  of  the  measure,  admits  at  this  day  no  question, 
since  such  words  were  introduced  into  "  the  New  Eng- 
land scheme,"  and  such  a  construction  was  afterwards 
made  of  them,  notwithstanding  their  inconsistence 
with  the  unvaried  tenor  of  Mr.  Hollis's  existing  let- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  247 

ters,  and  the  express  terms  of  his  statutes  and  "  or-   CHAPTER 

XII 

ders." 

"  The  scheme,"  as  it  came  from  New  England, 
was  not  approved  by  Mr.  Hollis.  "  I  have  received  Not  ap- 
your  letters  and  scheme,"  says  he,  "  and  on  due  Hoiiis. 
consideration  I  think  it  requires  some  amendments;" 
for  which  purpose,  he  informs  Col  man,  that  he  had 
delivered  it  over  to  "  several  worthy  pastors  of 
churches  here,"  desiring  them  to  make  alterations 
and  remarks  upon  "  the  scheme  transmitted,"  which, 
when  finished,  he  says,  "  I  shall  send  over  for  your 
more  mature  consideration."  The  spirit  in  which  he 
declares  this  course  was  adopted  by  him  is  admirable, 
and  worthy  of  all  praise  ;  "  Believing,"  says  he,  "  that 
you  and  they  have  nothing  in  view  herein,  but  fur- 
thering of  the  glory  of  God,  promoting  good  literature, 
and  the  true  knowledge  of  theology  and  the  well 
understanding  the  sacred  Scriptures."* 

The  particular  points  in  the  "  New  England 
scheme,"  to  which  he  objected,  and  which  he  thought 
required  amendments,  are  not  stated  by  Mr.  Hollis,  and 
are  only  to  be  inferred  from  his  known  sentiments,  and 
the  views  he  avowed  in  establishing  his  professorship. 
In  the  New  England  scheme  the  terms  "  sound  and 
orthodox  "  were,  however,  of  a  character  most  adapted 
to  excite  his  apprehensions.  By  other  of  his  letters 
it  appears  he  knew  well,  that,  in  New  England, 
and  particularly  among  leading  members  of  the  board 
of  Overseers,  "  the  divine  right  of  infant  baptism 
was  one  of  the  essential  points  of  orthodoxy ; "  and 
he  could  not  but  perceive,  that,  under  this  term,  by 
New  England  construction,  a  Baptist  might  be  for 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLV. 


248  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    ever  excluded  from  his    professorship.     It  is  evident 

XII. 

'. —  there  was  a  fixed  purpose  in  Mr.  Hollis's   mind,  on 

the  one  hand,  that  he  would  not  require  a  Baptist 
should  be  chosen  to  his  professorship,  and  on  the 
other,  that  a  Baptist,  on  account  of  his  faith,  should 
not  be  excluded.  It  can,  therefore,  scarcely  be  doubt- 
ed, that  these  terms  were  among  those,  which  he 
considered  required  amendment  or  modification.  This 
his  subsequent  conduct  evidences  very  clearly. 
HOW  modi-  "  The  worthy  pastors,"  seven  in  number,  to  whom 
Mr.  Hollis  delivered  the  "  New  England  scheme  "  for 
his  professorship,  returned  it  to  him,  after  solemn  de- 
liberation, in  due  time,  amended.  This  original  paper, 
with  the  signatures  of  these  pastors,  exists  at  the 
present  time  among  the  archives  of  the  University. 
It  is  dated,  "London,  August  22d,  1721,"  and  con- 
tains eleven  articles,  in  which  the  differences  from 
the  New  England  scheme  are  noted.* 

It  appears,  that  all  the  articles  as  modified  by  the 
seven  pastors  were  acceded  to  by  Mr.  Hollis,  except 
the  eleventh,  which  was  in  these  words. 

"  XI.  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  electors,  that 
at  every  choice  they  prefer  a  man  of  solid  learning 
in  divinity,  of  sound  and  orthodox  principles ;  one 
who  is  well  gifted  to  teach ;  of  a  sober  and  pious  life, 
and  of  a  grave  conversation." 

The  form  of  this  article,  although  it  had  retained 
the  term  "  orthodox "  only  as  a  recommendation  to 
the  electors,  and  not  in  the  form  of  a  qualification 
of  the  Professor,  it  appears  did  not  satisfy  Mr.  Hollis. 
He  was  obviously  placed  in  a  dilemma.  He  could 
not  strike  out  the  word  "  orthodox  "  on  the  one  hand, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLVI. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  249 

because,  in  a  certain  sense,  it  belonged  to  him,  and  CHAPTER 

XII 

he  recognised  it.     On  the  other  hand,  in  a  New  Eng-  '- — 

land  sense,  it  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  he  rejected 
it.  Yet  he  anticipated,  that,  if  the  scheme  were  signed 
as  reported  by  "  the  worthy  pastors,"  it  might  be 
construed  into  a  test  and  qualification  of  his  professor; 
a  result,  of  all  others,  which  his  generous  and  catholic 

spirit  deprecated.     The    course    he   adopted,    as   his  HOW  far- 
ther modi- 
statutes    show,    was    to   accept   the    eleventh   article,  fiedby 

'    Hollis. 

in  the  terms  proposed  by  the  "  pastors" ;  and  to  cause 
immediately  to  be  subjoined,*  and  made  a  substantive 
part  of  his  statutes,  that  the  only  article  of  belief 
required  of  his  Divinity  Professor  at  his  inauguration 
should  be,  "  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  are  the  only  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  man- 
ners." Thus  successfully  did  Hollis,  as  he  thought, 
secure  his  professor  from  the  yoke  of  sects,  which 
he  feared  might  be  laid  upon  him ;  and  guard  against 
such  a  construction  of  the  term  "  orthodox,"  as  should 
exclude  a  Baptist  from  his  professorship.  The  event 
showed  how  weak  are  rules  and  statutes  when  they 
thwart  sectarian  interests  or  policy. 

The  "  New  England  scheme,"  thus  modified,  was 
transmitted  by  Mr.  Hollis  to  the  Corporation,  and  by 
them  submitted  to  the  Overseers  on  the  10th  of  Jan- 
uary,   1721-2.     After   voting   thanks  to  Mr.  Hollis,  p™  />j- 
the  Overseers  unanimously  resolved,  "  that  the  estab-  Ov.  •<«-•., 
lishing  a  Professorship  of  Divinity  at  the  said  College, 
under  proper  regulations,  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
very  much  conduce  to  the  advancement  of  theology 
among  the  students  there,  to  promote  the  true  Chris- 
tian religion  throughout  the  whole   land,  and  there- 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  XL VII. 

VOL.  i.  32 


250  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   in  very  much  answer  the  great  and  pious  end  of  incor- 

porating  the  said  College."  *     They  then  proceeded  to 

declare,  by  way  of  preamble,  that  "  the  qualifications 
and  regulations  of  the  said  professorship  were  a  matter 
of  very  great  importance  to  the  religion  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  that  the  founder  himself  also  had  been 
pleased,  in  his  own  letter  to  the  Corporation,  to  desire 
them  duly  to  consider  of  the  said  rules  and  orders,  and 
send  over  such  needful  amendments  as  should  be 
thought  fit,"  and  after  making  some  additional  pro- 
visions relative  to  the  duty  of  the  professor,  and  some 
verbal  alterations,  they  come  to  the  eleventh  article, 
which  was  the  real  object  of  all  their  policy.  Their 
purpose,  it  appears,  was  twofold  ;  first,  to  modify  this 
article  in  such  a  manner  as  to  constitute  a  test  or 
qualification,  and  thus  introduce  an  examination,  in- 
quisition, and  declaration  of  particular  faith  by  the 
professor ;  and  next,  to  give  to  it  such  a  contem- 
poraneous construction  as  should  exclude,  if  possible, 
a  Baptist  for  ever  from  the  professorship.  This  policy 
is  developed  by  the  subsequent  proceedings,  and  is 
farther  illustrated  by  the  account  given  by  Chief  Jus- 
tice Sewall  of  the  nature  and  violence  of  the  debates 
which  occurred  on  this  occasion,  and  of  the  measures 
Their  vio-  in  which  they  eventuated.  His  Diary  states,  that  the 
bates.6  debate,  commenced  in  the  forenoon,  was  continued 
through  the  day,  and  that  the  Governor  left  the  board 
in  displeasure  late  in  the  afternoon.  By  the  records 
of  the  Overseers  it  also  appears,  that  the  meeting 
was  adjourned,  without  completing  the  business  before 
them,  from  the  10th  to  the  24th  of  January.  The 
objections  made  are  stated  distinctly  in  Judge  Sewall's 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLVII1. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  251 

Diary.     The  whole   passage   is  sufficiently  important  CHAPTER 

to    be    given  in    his  words.     "  January    10th,    1721.  

Overseers  of  the  College  meet  at  the  Council  Cham-  J.udge 

oewall  s 

ber,  to  consider  Mr.  Hollis's  proposals  as  to  his  Pro- 
fessor  of  Divinity.  Debate  was  had  in  the  forenoon 
about  the  article  *  He  shall  be  a  master  of  arts,  and 
in  communion  with  a  church  of  Congregationalists, 
Presbyterians,  or  Baptists.'  I  objected  against  that 
article,  as  choosing  rather  to  lose  the  donation  than 
accept  it.  In  the  afternoon  I  said,  '  One  great  end 
for  which  the  planters  came  over  into  New  England 
was  to  fly  from  the  cross  in  baptism.  For  my  part, 
I  had  rather  have  baptism  administered  with  the 
incumbrance  of  the  cross,  than  not  to  have  it  ad- 
ministered at  all.  This  qualification  of  the  Divinity 
Professor  is  to  me  a  bribe  to  give  my  sentence  in 
disparagement  of  infant  baptism,  and  I  will  endeavour 
to  shake  my  hands  from  holding  it.' 

"  When  it  came  to  the  vote,  very  few  appeared  in 
the  negative.  I  desired  to  have  my  dissent  entered. 
The  Governor  denied  it  with  an  air  of  displeasure, 
saying,  '  You  shall  not  have  itS  It  was  seven  or  eight 
o'clock  before  we  had  gone  through  the  constitutions. 
His  Excellency  went  away  long  before." 

The  principles  on  which  the  opposition  of  Sewall 
was  founded,  satisfactorily  explain  the  motives  of  the 
Overseers  in  these  and  their  subsequent  proceedings. 
By  striking  out  of  the  New  England  scheme,  as  it 
was  returned  amended  by  Hollis,  the  words  "  recom- 
mendatory to  the  Electors,"  and  inserting  those  imply- 
ing a  qualification,  the  Overseers  had  established,  as 
they  intended,  a  test.  It  now  only  remained  to  give 
such  a  contemporaneous  construction  of  that  article  as 
should  form  a  precedent  of  examination,  inquisition, 


252  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  and  declaration,  conformable  to  the  New  England  no- 

XII 

'- —  tion  of  orthodoxy,  including  particularly  "  faith  in  the 

divine  right  of  infant  baptism,"  which  the  statutes  and 
"  orders  "  of  Hollis  put  in  such  eminent  hazard.  For 
this  purpose,  an  adjournment  was  made  by  the  Over- 

overseers  seers  to  the  24th  of  January.  That  such  was  their 
object  is  apparent  from  the  next  measures  of  the 
Corporation,  which,  considering  the  eminently  fair 
and  catholic  spirit  of  its  members,  can  only  be 
accounted  for,  on  the  supposition,  that  they  acted 
under  the  direct  pressure,  if  not  absolute  dictation, 
of  the  board  of  Overseers.  The  Corporation  had 
probably  ascertained,  that  the  bounty  of  Hollis  would 
be  rejected  by  the  Overseers,  and  his  good  will  con- 
sequently lost,  unless  they  complied  with  the  course 
which  the  proceedings  of  the  Overseers  indicated 
that  board  required  of  them. 

The  Corporation  had  already  reciprocated  the  lib- 
eral spirit  of  Mr.  Hollis  in  the  most  unqualified  terms, 
and  expressly  submitted  to  him  the  "  limitation  of  the 
communion  of  his  professor."  In  conformity  with  his 
"  orders  "  of  the  24th  of  February,  1720-21,  they  had 
in  the  month  of  June  succeeding  elected  Mr.  Wiggles- 
worth  Professor  of  Divinity,  without  applying  any 
test,  or  making  any  examination  into  his  faith.  This 
election  had  been  by  ballot,  in  a  meeting  of  the  board 
at  which  six  members  were  present,  and  his  name 
had  been,  in  the  most  formal  manner,  "  sent  to  Mr. 
Hollis  for  his  approbation,  iu  a  letter  signed  by  the 
President  and  Mr.  Colman."* 

It  is  evident,  that  the  action  of  the  Corporation  on 
the  subject  of  Mr.  Wigglesworth,  was  completed, 

*  See  above,  pp.  239-243. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  253 


and    that,   after  the  approval  of  Mr.  Hollis   was  re-   CHAPTER 

XH 

ceived,    it   only    remained   for   them   to   present    the — 

election  of  Mr.  Wigglesworth    to    the    Overseers  for 
their  approbation. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  without  surprise,  that  we  find  the 
following  statement  on  the  records  of  the  Corporation. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  Col-  Meeting 
lege,  at  the  House  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wadsworth,  in  portion. 
Boston,  January  23d,  1721-2.  Present,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  Wadsworth,  Mr.  Colman,  Mr.  Treasurer 
Hutchinson.  The  Corporation,  having  discoursed 
among  themselves  about  choosing  a  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity on  Mr.  Hollis's  foundation,  and  having  formerly 
their  thoughts  upon  Mr.  Edward  Wiggleswortk  for  that 
service,  they  sent  for  him,  and,  having  discoursed  him 
in  general,  and  put  such  questions  unto  him  in  par- 
ticular, as  by  his  answers  gave  them  satisfaction  about 
the  soundness  and  orthodoxy  of  his  principles  in  di- 
vinity, they  did  elect  the  said  Mr.  Edward  Wiggles- 
worth  to  be  Professor  of  Divinity  on  Mr.  Hollis's 
foundation." 

Thus,  on  the  23d  of  January,   1722,  the  Corpora-  Elect  wjg- 

~  ,      .  .  ,  .    ,  ,         f.  glesworth  a 

tion    are    found   in    a   meeting,   at   which    only   four  second 

*  .    time. 

members  were  present,  representing  an  election  of 
a  Professor,  made  on  the  28th  of  June  preceding,  at  a 
meeting  when  six  members  were  present,  and  which 
had  been  sent  to  Mr.  Hollis  for  his  approbation,  as  only 
"  having  formerly  their  thoughts  upon  Mr.  Wiggles- 
worth  "  ;  and  then,  after  sending  for  him,  and  examin- 
ing him  as  to  his  "  soundness  and  orthodoxy,"  pro- 
ceeding to  declare  his  election,  without  ballot,  and 
with  the  presence  only  of  a  mere  quorum  of  the  board. 
The  extraordinary  nature  of  these  proceedings  suf- 
ficiently indicates,  that  they  had  relation  to  the  meeting 


254  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   of  the  Overseers,  which    had  been  adjourned    to  the 

XII 

! day  following,  and  had  particular  reference  to  the 

contemporaneous  construction  of  those  technical  terms, 
which  the  objections  made  in  that  board  required  of 
the  Corporation ;  and  that  the  chief  object  of  this 
meeting  was  to  establish  the  precedent  of  examina- 
tion into  "  soundness  and  orthodoxy." 

Cause  of          The   Corporation,  however,  had  the  prudence  and 

this  pro-  r 

ceeding.  delicacy  to  leave  the  particular  points  of  their  ex- 
amination, by  which  they  tested  Mr.  Wigglesworth's 
orthodoxy,  unspecified  on  their  records.  They  had 
also,  probably,  conscientious  misgivings,  that  some 
of  the  topics  of  inquiry  did  not  altogether  coincide 
with  their  implied  engagements  to  Mr.  Hollis.  The 
acquiescence  of  such  men  as  Leverett,  Colman,  and 
Wadsworth,  in  measures  thus  inconsistent  with  the 
liberal  spirit,  for  which  they  were  distinguished,  is 
not,  however,  to  be  attributed  solely  to  their  fear 
of  losing  the  Professorship  of  Divinity  by  the  nega- 
tive of  the  Overseers,  but  to  the  violence  of  party 
spirit,  which  was  raging  in  that  board  and  the  House 
of  Representatives  against  the  Corporation,  and  which 
was  then  countenancing  measures  tending  to  remove 
the  obnoxious  members  of  it  from  their  seats.  The 
nature  of  these  will  be  hereafter  stated  and  explained. 
The  considerations  of  prudence  and  delicacy,  evi- 
denced in  the  records  of  the  Corporation,  did  not 
answer  the  purposes  of  the  Overseers.  They  wanted 
not  merely  a  general  examination  into  the  "  sound- 
ness and  orthodoxy  "  of  the  candidate,  but  a  special 
statement  of  their  construction  of  those  terms,  for 
the  guidance  of  future  times.  Therefore,  at  their 
meeting  on  the  24th  of  January,  1722,  the  day  after 
the  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  when  the  Presi- 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  255 

dent  of   the    College    reported    their    choice    of  Mr.    CHAPTER 

Wigglesworth  for  confirmation,  stating,  "  that,  preced-  

ing  the  choice,  they  had  examined  him  upon  several 
important  heads  of  divinity  ;  the  Overseers,  first  ap- 
proving that  examination,  and  then  confirming  Mr. 
Wigglesworth,  immediately  caused  the  following  order  Further 
to  be  entered  upon  their  records,  under  the  head  of  Fngsof  the 
"  Professor  Wiggles  worth's  creed."  "  Ordered  by  the 
Overseers,  that  a  minute  be  taken  and  recorded,  of 
the  several  heads  in  divinity,  upon  which  the  Corpo- 
ration examined  Mr.  Wigglesworth,  viz.  that  he  ap- 
peared before  the  Corporation,  and  declared  his  assent, 
1.  To  Dr.  Ames's  *  Medulla  Theologiae.'  2.  To  the 
Confession  of  Faith  contained  in  the  Assembly's  Cate- 
chism. 3.  To  the  doctrinal  Articles  of  the  Church 
of  England.  More  particularly;  1.  To  the  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Trinity.  2.  To  the  doctrine  of  the  eter- 
nal Godhead  of  the  blessed  Saviour.  3.  To  the  doc- 
trine of  Predestination.  4.  To  the  doctrine  of  special 
efficacious  grace.  5.  To  the  divine  right  of  infant 
baptism." 

By  thus  enumerating  all  the  particular  points  on 
which  Mr.  Wigglesworth  had  been  examined,  in- 
cluding "  the  divine  right  of  infant  baptism,"  the 
Overseers  unquestionably  intended  to  fix,  by  con- 
temporaneous construction,  the  meaning  of  the  terms 
"  sound  and  orthodox." 

These   proceedings  can   hardly   be  reconciled  with  Their  in- 
good    faith    to    Mr.  Hollis ;  first,    in   the    attempt  to  tency  with 

good  faith. 

establish  the  divine  right  of  infant  baptism  as  a  re- 
quired article  of  belief,  under  statutes  established  by 
a  Baptist,  which  expressly  provided  that  the  professor 
might  be  of  the  Baptist  communion  ;  and  under  "  or- 
ders "  concerning  the  disposition  of  his  monevs  sent 


256  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   to  New  England,   "  that  none  should  be  refused  on 

"V  IT 

' .  account  of  his  belief  and  practice  of  adult  baptism  ;  " 

secondly,  in  compelling  a  professor  to  make  a  formal 
declaration  of  belief  in  all  the  points  of  high  Calvin- 
ism, under  statutes  which  expressly  provide,  that  the 
only  declaration  required  of  the  professor  should  be, 
"  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
are  the  only  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  manners." 

Notwithstanding  these  deviations  from  the  princi- 
ples of  Mr.  Hollis's  statutes  and  orders,  unanimity 
was  not  obtained.  Three  out  of  the  fourteen  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  who  voted  on  the  approval  of  Mr. 
Wigglesworth,  were,  according  to  Mr.  Sewall's  Diary, 
dissentient,  f  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  course 
adopted  tended  to  reconcile  the  other  members  of  the 
board,  and  established  his  election. 

This  construction  of  the  terms  "sound  and  ortho- 
doxy" and  this  required  declaration  of  all  the  high 
points  of  Calvinism,  were,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted, 
never  made  known  to  Mr.  Hollis.  They  were  in 
such  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  his 
statutes  and  orders,  that  if  they  had  been  communi- 
cated to  him,  it  is  hardly  possible  he  should  not  have 
severely  commented  upon  them. 

By  Hollis's  letter  to  Colman,  of  June  8th,  1722, 
subsequent  to  these  measures,  it  appears  he  had 
notice  of  the  acceptance  of  his  professorship  by  the 
Overseers ;  that  "  a  fair  copy  of  his  orders,  with  the 
amendments  of  the  board  of  Overseers,"  had  been 
sent  to  him ;  which  he  approved,  "  depending  upon 
your  (Mr.  Colman's)  judgment,  that  for  the  pres- 
ent it  is  best."  "  I  am  thinking,"  he  writes,  "  to 

*  See  above,  p.  242.  \  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  267 

add    some    clause    more  binding,  that  my   heirs   and   CHAPTER 

successors   may   have    power    to   see    my    rules    and  ! — 

orders    fulfilled,    according  as    I    hinted    to    you    last 
year  in  my  letters." 

It  appears,  also,  by  this  letter,  that  Mr.  Hollis 
had  been  informed  of  the  debates  in  the  board  of 
Overseers  on  his  statutes  and  orders,  and  of  the  part 
the  Governor  had  taken  in  their  favor ;  but  no  allusion 
is  made  to  the  examination  and  declaration  required 
of  his  professor  on  certain  articles  of  belief  previous 
to  his  admission  to  the  office.  "  I  am  sorry,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  to  hear  of  some  men's  spirits,  and  grieved  I 
have  occasion  to  say  so  much  of  my  own  particular 
persuasion  about  baptism,  a  point  I  am  far  from  im- 
posing on  any,  nor  for  writing  or  discoursing  about 
unless  necessarily  called  unto  it." 

"  In  relation  to  my  devoted  moneys,"  he  adds,  "  I 
have  confidence  in  the  present  Corporation,  that  they 
will  not  alter  my  intended  purposes  (which  are  sacred 
to  me)  without  my  leave,  while  I  live,  whatever 
changes  in  my  rules  and  orders  it  may  come  into 
their  heads  to  make  after  I  am  dead."  His  anxiety  Hoiiispost- 

...  -i  .  pones  sign- 

On  this  subject  is  again  intimated   in  a  postscript  to  ingthe 

amended 

the  same  letter.  "  I  must  pray  you  to  have  regard  to  orders. 
the  rules  relating  to  my  trust,  which  you  have  by  you 
under  my  hand,  till  such  time  as  I  return  you  the 
fair  copy,  signed  in  form,  with  your  amendments." 
These  successive  expressions  would  certainly  not  have 
been  used  by  Mr.  Hollis,  had  he  been  correctly  in- 
formed of  the  total  disregard  of  his  statutes,  in  re- 
spect to  Baptists,  evinced  by  the  Overseers,  and  of  the 
declaration  of  faith  they  had  required  of  his  professor. 
These  proceedings  of  the  Overseers  were  confined  to 
their  records,  to  which  Mr.  Hollis  had  no  means  of 
VOL.  i.  33 


258  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   access.     But.  aware  of  the  sectarian  spirit  prevalent  in 

XII. 

—  that  board,  and  of  the  bigotry  of  some  of  its  members, 

his  fears  were  excited  relative  to  the  perversion  of 
his  funds,  and  he  demanded  farther  security  for  the 
observance  of  his  statutes.  His  letter  to  Dr.  Colman, 

Hoiiis        dated  August  18th,   1722,  renders  this  evident.     "I 

alarmed  for 

his  trusts.  (Jo  now,  Sir,  entreat  you  to  acquaint  Mr.  President 
and  the  Corporation,  that  they  should  send  me  over 
some  writing  obligatory,  that  they  will  now,  and  in 
time  following,  perform  this  my  trust,  committed  to 
them  pursuant  to  my  orders,  which  I  have  signed  or 
shall  sign  with  my  hand  and  seal ;  which  I  may  leave 
with  my  heirs  at  my  decease,  who  may  have  some 
power  to  examine  that  your  successors  are  faithful  in 
the  trust,  and  do  not  divert  the  principal  nor  income 
to  other  purposes."  "  The  late  uncharitable  reflections 
of  some  upon  the  Baptists  as  not  orthodox,  together 

Hesitates     with    the    present  or  later  motions  of  some  to  alter, 

about  sign-     -i  i  •  .  .  .  . 

ing  the        by   changing   or    increasing   hands   in   the   governing 

amended  f     i         /-^  •  i  1-1-  i 

statutes.  power  of  the  Corporation,  makes  me  think  it  to  be 
needful,  and  I  hope  they  will  grant  it  me."  "  I 
have  some  minutes  by  me  to  strengthen  my  orders, 
as  I  think,  but  am  not  yet  resolved,  whether  to  add 
it  to  your  present  parchment  writing  you  sent  me,  or 
to  leave  it  sealed  up  with  my  will." 

"  I  have  been  prevailed  upon,  at  your  instances,  to 
sit  the  first  time  for  my  picture,  —  a  present  to  your 
Hall.  I  doubt  not  but  that  they  are  pleased  with  my 
moneys;  but  I  have  some  reason  to  think,  that  some 
among  you  will  not  be  well  pleased  to  see  the  shade 
of  a  Baptist  hung  there,  unless  you  get  a  previous 
order  to  admit  it,  and  forbidding  any  indecency  to  it ; 
which,  if  they  do,  though  I  am  at  a  distance,  the 


XII. 


Being  apprized  of  the  temper,  in  which  the  New  His  opinion 

*  of  the  re- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  259 

birds  of  the  air  will  tell  it.  and  I  shall  be  grieved  ;   CHAPTER 
as  I  have  been  already." 

Being  apprized  of  the 
T,  V  .  .  . 

England  religious  controversies  were  in  that  day  con- 

J  .  spirit  of 

ducted,  he  adds.  "  I  pray  God  to  allay  the  unchristian  New  Er)g- 

r      J  J  land. 

heats,  that  have  been  among  you  of  one  sort  and 
another.  Be  at  peace,  and  continue  not  to  divide 
and  bite  one  another."  As  if  anticipating,  that  the 
term  "  orthodox  "  was  about  to  be  abused  to  the 
propagation  of  an  antichristian  spirit,  he  takes  occa- 
sion to  advise  Mr.  Colman  in  relation  to  Mr.  Monis 
(instructor  in  Hebrew,  a  converted  Jew),  "  to  instruct 
him  a  little  farther  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  more 
extensive  charity,  and  not  to  judge  too  hastily  of  his 
neighbour,  and  exclude  from  salvation  every  one  that 
differs  from  him  in  the  explication  and  belief  of  the 
article  of  the  Trinity.  A  glorious  truth  it  is,  but  the 
manner  of  explaining  it  appears  difficult  ;  so  difficult, 
that  scarce  two  can  say  exactly  alike,  except  they 
agree  on  a  form  and  agree  to  write  after  it." 

How  little  did  Mr.  Hollis  imagine,  at  the  time  he 
wrote  this  letter,  that  measures  had  been  adopted  by 
the  board  of  Overseers,  which  placed  among  the  tests 
of  orthodoxy  a  belief  in  the  divine  right  of  infant  bap- 
tism ;  and  that  amendments  and  papers  had  been  so 
devised,  as  to  make  him  apparently  instrumental  in 
such  a  construction,  as  would  for  ever  exclude  a  Bap- 
tist from  a  professorship,  to  which  his  statutes  had 
made  a  specific  provision  that  he  might  be  eligible  ! 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Colman,  dated  the  14th 
of  January,  1722-23,  he  thus  writes,  "I  am  not 
unacquainted,  by  books  I  have  read,  what  treatment 
Baptists  have  met  with  in  New  England  in  former 
times,  and  been  sorry  for  it.  I  am  glad  to  see  and 


260  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  hear  by  divers  letters  and  books,  that  they  have  been 
"'  better  treated  of  late,  and  that  a  better  spirit  of  love 
and  charity  now  shows  itself  in  Boston.  But  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  let  you  know,  that  the  speeches  of 
some  on  that  head,  at  reading  my  orders,  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  many  ministers  and  gentlemen 
in  London,  which  have  occasioned  many  very  hard 
speeches  against  your  College,  in  my  hearing,  to  my 
sorrow." 

With  this  clear  comprehension  of  the  difficulties 
and  differences  attending  the  explanation  of  the  term 
"  orthodox,"  Mr.  Hollis  would  not  have  permitted  its 
introduction  into  his  statutes,  had  he  not  thought  he 
had  sufficiently  guarded  against  its  misconstruction  by 
the  only  declaration  of  faith,  which  he  required  of 
his  professor.  Nor  would  he  have  confined  his  re- 
marks to  " the  speeches  of  some  on  that  head"  if  he 
had  been  apprized  that  the  Overseers  of  the  College 
had  already  made  and  acted  upon  a  construction  of 
the  term  "  orthodoxy,"  which,  if  followed  as  a  prece- 
dent, would  for  ever  exclude  a  Baptist  from  being  a 
professor  on  his  foundation. 

Finally  From  this  letter  it  appears,  that  his  "  orders  "  were 

signs  the 

statutes  of    nOw  finally  "  written  over  fairly  on  vellum,"  and  that 

his  Profes-  J  .  . 

sorship  of     n  what   relates  to   the   Professor  is  verbatim  as   you 

Divinity.  v 

(Mr.  Colman)  sent  it  me  over."  The  "  orders  "  sent 
by  Mr.  Hollis,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  real 
foundation  of  his  professorship,  are  dated  February 
14th,  1720  -  21 .  The  "  orders  "  above  specified  were 
dated  "  the  ninth  year  of  George  the  First,  10th 
January,  1722-23,  nearly  two  years  subsequent  to 
the  date  of  his  first  orders.  So  much  time  had  this 
negotiation  occupied. 

Mr.  Hollis  recurs  again  in  this  letter  to  his  "  writing 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  261 

obligatory."     "  I  wait  to  see,"  says  he,  "  your  Corpo-    CHAPTER 

ration's  obligation,  and  how  you  shall  continue  to  act. — 

If  one  or  the  other  is  not  to  my  liking,  I  can,  by  the  claims  a 

_  writing  ob- 

powers  1  reserve,  add  it  as  a  codicil,  or  part  ot  my  ' 
will ;  but  I  have  hopes  I  shall  not  need." 

In  a  letter  dated  on  the  2d  of  March,  1723,  he  re- 
peats his  "  expectation,  that  what  I  last  year  desired, 
a  College  obligation  for  performance  of  my  trusts  to 
me  and  my  successors,  should  be  sent  out  to  me." 

This  demand  of  a  writing  obligatory  for  the  faith- 
ful performance  of  his  trusts  occasioned  the  Overseers  sending 
and  Corporation  some  embarrassment.  As  Hollis  said, 
"  they  liked  his  moneys,"  but  his  "  writings  obliga- 
tory "  were  not  quite  so  much  to  their  fancy.  Presi- 
dent Leverett  therefore  replied,  "  that  the  Corpora- 
tion, upon  second  thoughts,  could  not  find  how  to  bind 
themselves  faster  than  they  are  already,  in  justice." 

On  this  refusal,  Mr.  Hollis  called  a  meeting,  in 
London,  of  his  friends,  at  which  Governor  Shute, 
who  was  then  in  England,  was  present,  and  submitted 
President  Leverett's  letter  for  their  "  advice,"  in 
which,  says  he,  "  they  were  unanimous,  that  I  should 
insist  on  it,  to  have  such  an  obligation  as  strong  as 
may  be,  according  to  your  promise." 

That  this  demand  might  be  the  more  certainly 
effectual,  he  put  the  Corporation  under  a  high  pressure. 
"  It  will  not  be  prudent,"  he  adds,  "  for  you  to  delay  Hoiiis  de- 
it  "  (sending  the  required  obligation)  ;  "  for,  though  I 
think  I  have  sent  enough,  yet  more  was  designed,  as  I 
hinted,  in  my  will,  —  but  that  it  is  as  yet  in  my  own 
power  to  alter,  if  I  may  not  be  gratified  in  this.* 

Upon  this  urgency,  an  obligation  was  transmitted. 

*  Hollis's  letter,  18th  March,  J722-3.    Appendix,  No.  XLIX. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   Its  terms,   however,  were   not  satisfactory  to  Hollis. 
- —  On  the  15th  of  August,   1723,  he  writes  to  Colman ; 

tionu-ans-    "  I  have  now  received  from  Mr.  Treasurer  a  draft  of 

obligation,  a  College  obligation  to  perform  my  trusts.  I  shall 
return  it  again  with  some  very  little  alteration.  I 
think  the  Corporation  need  not  be  so  scrupulous,  and 
fearful  of  me,  in  coming  into  such  a  deed  ;  I  mean 
them  no  harm,  no  difficulty."  "  Since  my  orders  are 
now  signed  and  sealed  with  you,  keep  but  honestly 
to  them,  and  I  shall  be  pleased,  not  having  any 
design  at  present  to  alter  them,  unless  I  see  some 
very  great  reason  for  it." 

The  reluctance  of  the  Corporation  was  not  over- 
come until  the  month  of  September,  1725,  when  they 
finally  transmitted  to  Mr.  Hollis  a  formal  obligation 
for  their  faithful  fulfilment  of  his  trusts. 

We  have  thus  traced,  historically,  through  its  sev- 
eral stages,  the  foundation  of  the  Professorship  of 
Divinity,  in  Harvard  College,  by  the  first  Thomas 
Hollis,  with  an  exactness  of  investigation  and  a 
minuteness  of  statement,  demanded  by  both  justice 
and  gratitude. 

Result  of         The  investigation,    it   is   believed,    has   resulted  in 

the  invest!-  .  . 

gation.  establishing,  beyond  any  reasonable  question,  the 
following  points. 

1.  That  the    Professorship  of  Divinity,  as   it  first 
came  from  the  hands  of  Hollis,  was  absolutely  with- 
out restriction  or  qualification ;  and  not  only  free  from 
any  sectarian    test,  but  so  broad  and  unequivocal  in 
language,  that   no    sectarian  test  could  be  extracted 
or  deduced  from  it. 

2.  That  the  terms,    out  of  which  the  attempt  to 
establish    a  test  has  grown,   were  of  New  England 
invention  and  transmission. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  263 

3.  That  Hollis,  by  providing  that  the  only  declara-  CHAPTER 

XH 

tion  required  of  his  professor  should  be,  "  his  belief  — '— 
that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are 
the  only  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  manners,  and  that 
he  promise  to  explain  and  open  the  Scriptures  to  his 
pupils  with  integrity  and  uprightness,  according  to 
the  best  light  that  God  shall  give  him,"  established 
his  professorship  upon  the  broad  basis  of  a  belief 
in  the  Scriptures ;  a  foundation  wholly  inconsistent 
with  a  required  belief  in  any  specified  sectarian  points 
or  creeds. 

4.  That  the  construction,  which  substituted,  in  place 
of  the  simple  declaration  required  by  Hollis  of  his  pro- 
fessor, an  examination  and  declaration  of  faith  in  all 
the  high  points  of  New  England  Calvinism,  including 
a  belief  in  the  divine  right  of  infant  baptism,  could 
not  have  received  the  approbation  or  consent  of  Hollis  ; 
and  that  there  is  no  evidence,  or  reasonable  ground 
to  believe  it  was  ever  communicated  to  him,  or  known 
by  him,  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

From  these  points,  thus  established,  it  unavoidably 
results,  that  the  suspicions  of  double  dealing,  to  which 
an  overheated  zeal  for  sects  and  tests  has  subjected 
the  character  of  Hollis,  are  wholly  unfounded.  Thomas 
Hollis  was  a  man  incapable  of  the  meanness  of  at- 
tempting to  do  indirectly,  by  the  use  of  a  word  of 
equivocal  meaning,  that  which,  had  he  done  it  directly, 
would  have  contradicted  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life, 
and  the  trait  of  character  which  he  most  valued, — 
charity.  Much  more  was  he  incapable  of  the  hypoc- 
risy of  prescribing  in  terms,  that  a  belief  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures  should  be  the  only  declaration  required  of 
his  professor,  and,  in  the  same  instrument,  by  construc- 
tion, clandestinely  providing  that  his  professor  should 


264  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  be  examined,  and  declare  his  belief,  in  all  the  high 
— —  points  of  New  England  Calvinism.  Above  all,  he 
was  incapable  of  being  a  traitor  to  the  faith  he  pub- 
licly professed,  by  establishing  directly,  in  one  clause 
of  his  statutes,  that  his  professor  might  be  of  the 
"  Baptist  communion,"  and  constructively,  by  the  use 
of  an  equivocal  word,  in  another  clause  requiring,  in 
direct  contradiction  of  the  peculiar  tenets  of  the  Bap- 
tist faith,  that,  as  a  condition  of  admission,  his  pro- 
fessor should  declare  his  belief  in  the  divine  right  of 
infant  baptism. 

The  negotiations  relative  to  the  establishment  of 
the  Hollis  Professorship  of  Divinity  were  finally  closed 
but  a  short  time  before  the  death  of  President  Lev- 
erett,  which  occurred  in  May,  1724.  Reserving  the 
other  noble  donations  of  Hollis  for  the  history  of  the 
presidency  in  which  they  were  received,  we  shall 
proceed  to  narrate  in  the  order  of  time  the  other 
events  affecting  the  prosperity  of  the  College  during 
the  administration  of  Leverett. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  265 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Tutors  Sever  and  Welsteed  claim  Seats  at  the  Board  of  Corporation 
by  Virtue  of  the  Term  "Fellows."  —  The  Overseers  appoint  a 
Committee  on  the  Subject.  — Origin  of  the  Term  "  Fellows"  in  the 
College.  —  History  of  its  Introduction  and  Use  traced  through  the 
College  Records.  —  "Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  when  first  used. 
—  "Fellow  of  the  House,"  when  introduced,  and  how  used. — 
Distinction  instituted  between  them.  —  Tenure  of  Tutor's  Office 
limited  to  three  Years.  —  Sever  and  Welsteed  each  elected  a  Fel- 
low of  the  House  under  that  Limitation.  —  State  of  Parties  when 
their  Claim  to  a  Seat  at  the  Board  of  Corporation  was  intro- 
duced.—  Treatment  of  President  Leverett  by  the  General  Court. 

WHILE   the    Overseers   of    Harvard    College   were   CHAPTER 

VTTT 

carefully  shaping  by  act  and  construction  the  statutes  — 
of  the  Hollis  Professorship  of  Divinity  into  a  form, 
adapted  to  establish  in  the  College  a  creed  and 
religious  test,  an  event  occurred,  which  opened  a 
prospect  of  removing  from  their  seats,  those  members 
of  the  Corporation  who  were  most  distinguished  for 
the  liberality  of  their  religious  opinions.  On  the  23d 
of  June,  1721,  in  the  very  week  the  Corporation  had 
chosen  Mr.  Wigglesworth  Professor  of.  Divinity,  in 
conformity  with  Mr.  Hollis's  original  orders,  without 
any  examination  into  his  "  soundness  and  orthodoxy," 
two  Tutors,  Nicholas  Sever  and  William  Welsteed,  Scver  a"d ' 

'    Welsteed's 

presented  to  the  Overseers  a  memorial,  claiming,  under  memorial. 
the  charter  of  the  College  granted  in  1650,  seats  at 
the    board  of    Corporation,    by  virtue    of  being   fel- 
lows and  actual  residents  at  the  College,  engaged  in 
VOL.  i.  34 


266  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the   business  of  instruction,  and   receiving  a  stipend. 

XIII. 

The  Overseers  referred  this  memorial  to  a  large  com- 
mittee, of  which  Chief  Justice  Sewall  was  chairman, 
with  instructions  to,"  inquire  into  the  grounds  and  rea- 
sons of  that  memorial,  to  consider  what  is  proper  and 
necessary  to  be  done  upon  it,  and  make  report  thereof 
to  the  Overseers."  Although  the  memorial  itself  is 
not  preserved,  the  principles  upon  which  the  claim 
of  these  tutors  was  founded  are  apparent  from  the 
records  of  the  Overseers  and  from  contemporary 
documents.  From  its  intimate  connexion  with  the 
history  of  the  College,  it  requires,  in  this  place,  to  be 
stated  and  illustrated  with  minute  exactness. 

By  the  charter  of  1650,  the  Corporation  was  to 
consist  of  seven  persons ;  a  President,  a  Treasurer, 
and  Jive  Fellows.  The  claim  of  these  tutors  was 
founded  upon  the  term  "  fellows  "  in  that  charter, 
which  they  maintained  was  technical,  and  to  be  con- 
strued according  to  its  use  in  the  English  Universities ; 
in  which  residence  at  the  College,  engagement  in  in- 
struction, and  receiving  therefor  stipend,  were  essen- 
tial requisites  to  the  character  of  "  fellow." 

At  the  time  this  memorial  was  presented  to  the 
Overseers,  no  vacancy  existed  in  the  board  of  Cor- 
poration. The  seven  members  were,  Leverett,  Presi- 
dent; White,  Treasurer;  and  Flynt  (Tutor),  Wads- 
worth,  Colman,  Appleton,  and  Stevens,  the  five 
Fellows.  According  to  the  view  of  these  memorial- 
ists, Flynt  alone  possessed  the  qualities  essential  to 
constitute  "  a  fellow."  The  four  others  were  neither 
residents,  instructors,  nor  stipendiaries.  If  these 
qualities  should  be  declared  essential  to  constitute  a 
member  of  the  Corporation,  the  seats  of  these  four 
would  be  vacated,  and  three  of  them  would  rightfully 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  261 

belong  to  Sever,  Welsteed,  and  Robie,  another  tutor  CHAPTER 

and  "  resident  fellow,"  who,  for  some  reason,  did  not  — 

unite  in  Sever  and  Welsteed's  memorial. 

Each  of  these  tutors  had  accepted  his  appointment 
upon  an  express  understanding,  that  he  was  chosen 
not  a  "  fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  but  only  a  "  fel- 
low of  the  College  or  House  " ;  a  distinction,  which 
had  been  sanctioned  by  successive  votes  of  the  Cor- 
poration, approved  by  the  Overseers. 

The  claim  of  Sever  and  Welsteed  rested  solely  on 
the  construction  of  the  term  "  fellows  "  in  the  charter 
of  the  College.  They  maintained  that  this  term  in- 
tended not  "  associates  "  in  a  genera]  sense,  but  "  resi- 
dent instructors  at  the  College  "  in  an  academic 
sense  ;  and  that  it  could  not  be  satisfied,  except  by 
electing  resident  instructors,  or  by  the  elected  persons 
becoming  resident  instructors  after  their  election. 

Regarding  exclusively  the  use  and  connexion  of  the  Meaning  of 
term  "  fellows"  in  the  charter,  nothing  could  be  more  i 

,,  ,  .        ,    .  .  .  l 

grOUndleSS  than  this  claim  ;  since  that  instrument,  un-  ter. 
deriiably,  gave  to  the  Corporation  the  right  of  electing 
its  members  from  the  "  inhabitants  of  the  Bay  "  at 
large,  without  any  precedent  or  subsequent  restriction, 
qualification,  or  condition.  To  maintain  the  technical 
meaning  of  this  term,  it  was  therefore  necessary  to 
prove,  either,  that,  antecedent  to  the  charter  of  1650, 
tutors  and  instructors  in  the  College  were  designated 
by  the  term  "  fellows,"  and  that  the  use  of  that  term 
in  the  charter  was  intended  to  express  a  class  of 
academic  men  then  known  by  that  name,  or  that  the 
five  persons  named  in  the  charter  were  in  fact  "  resi- 
dent instructors." 

To  the  first  position,  the  general  history  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  particular  history,  records,  and  known  re- 


268  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  lations  of  the  College,  gave  either  no  support,  or  such 
. '  as  was  altogether  shadowy  and  unsubstantial. 

The  name  of  "  fellows,"  applied  to  instructors  in 
Harvard  College,  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  history, 
general  or  particular,  or  in  any  public  document,  or 
in  any  College  record,  antecedent  to  1650,  with  one 
exception ;  and,  in  this  instance,  its  use  satisfactorily 
indicates  the  time  and  manner  of  its  introduction. 

The  College,  although  founded  in  1636,  had  at- 
tained, prior  to  1639,  notwithstanding  the  donation  of 
Harvard,  no  higher  appellation  than  that  of  "  school." 
Eaton,  its  master,  had  assistant  instructors,  called 
"  ushers."* 

In  the  invitation  given  to  Dunster  to  accept  the 
place  of  President,  there  is  no  mention  of  "  fellows." 
Neither  is  there  any  in  the  order  of  the  General  Court 
in  1642,  which  has  been  called  the  first  charter  of  the 
College.  There  exists  only  a  single  record  of  any 
meeting  of  the  board  constituted  by  this  act.  At  this 
meeting,  on  "the  27th  of  the  10th  month,  1643,"f 
the  settlement  of  the  account  of  John  Harvard's  ad- 
ministrator was  authorized,  a  treasurer  appointed,  a 
seal  established,  and  two  instructors  were  chosen  "  for 
the  present  help  of  the  President  to  read  to  the  junior 
pupils  as  the  President  shall  see  fit."  The  two 
Bachelors,  Sir  Bulkley  and  Sir  Downing,  were  the 
persons  thus  chosen,  and  each  was  allowed  a  salary 
of  four  pounds  per  annum. 

This  is  the  only  evidence,  existing  on  the  College 
records,  of  the  appointment  of  any  instructor  by  any 
title  before  the  year  1650;  and  it  appears  by  this  record, 
that  the  persons  chosen  to  assist  the  President  in  the 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  I.  pp.  308,  309.      f  See  above,  p.  48. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  269 

business  of  instruction,   had  not   acquired   the   name   CHAPTER 

XII I 

of   "  fellows."     This   is    farther   corroborated  by  the  '. — 

T»     11  i  i     TA  •  i  Term"So- 

circumstance,  that  Bulkley  and  Downing  have  never  cius,"when 
had  the  term  "  Socius  "  applied  to  them  in  the  Trien- 
nial Catalogue ;  although,  if  at  that  time  instructors 
had  acquired  the  name  of  "  fellows,"  they  are  as 
much  entitled  to  it  as  any  of  their  successors.  The 
fact,  that  the  first  five  "  Socii "  are  those  first  named 
as  such  in  the  College  Catalogue,  demonstrates,  that, 
antecedent  to  the  charter  of  1650,  no  one  had  ac- 
acquired  the  name  of  "  socius  "  or  "  fellow." 

Before  the  date  of  that  charter,  the  institution  was 
designated,  and  made  capable  of  taking  gifts  and  grants 
in  law,  by  the  name  of  the  "  College  at  Cambridge," 
or  "  Harvard  College."  Accordingly,  all  the  deeds 
and  grants  to  the  seminary,  which  appear  on  its  rec- 
ords, antecedent  to  1650,  bear  that  designation  and 
none  other.  The  deed  of  John  Bulkley,  in  Latin, 
of  the  date  of  December,  1645,  strongly  corroborates 
the  position,  that  the  term  "  fellows  "  was  not  then  in 
use  in  the  College.  "  Socius,"  the  Latin  term  for 
"  fellow,"  is  not  in  that  deed.  By  it  Bulkley  gave 
to  Dunster,  the  President  of  the  College,  two  acres 
of  land  in  Cambridge,  therein  described,  for  his  life. 
The  deed  then  proceeds  ;  "  If  at  any  time  he  shall 
leave  the  presidency,  or  shall  decease,  I  then  desire 
the  College  to  appropriate  the  same  to  itself  for  ever, 
as  a  small  gift  from  an  alumnus,  bearing  towards  it 
the  greatest  good  will."* 

Many  years  afterward,  this  deed  was  inserted  in 
the  Donation  Book  of  the  College,  and  is  there  intro- 
duced as  "  Extractum  Doni  Pomarii  Sociorum  per 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIL 


270  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   Johannem    Bulkleium."      But   this    descriptive    title, 

XIII 

.! which  was  prefixed  in  later  times,  gives  no  support 

to  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  antecedent  use  of  the 
term  "  fellows,"  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  found  in  the  deed 
itself.  After  President  Dunster's  resignation,  the  Cor- 
poration gave  the  income  of  Bulkley's  donation  to 
the  tutors,  who  received  it  for  many  years,  and  hence 
the  enclosure  obtained  the  name  of  "  Tutors'  Pasture," 
or  "  Fellows'  Orchard."  On  transcribing  Bulkley's 
deed  into  the  College  records,  this  descriptive  title 
was  prefixed,  either  to  give  countenance  to  the  name, 
or  in  consequence  of  it.  Notwithstanding  this  descrip- 
tive title,  therefore,  it  is  evident,  that  Bulkley's  deed 
adds  nothing  in  favor  of  the  argument,  that  the  term 
"fellow"  was  in  use  in  the  College  antecedent  to 
1650  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  so  far  as  it  has  any  effect, 
it  supports  the  reverse. 

A  conclusive  argument,  that  this  term  "  fellow " 
was  not  in  use  in  the  College  antecedent  to  1647,  is 
drawn  from  the  fact,  that  the  first  statutes  on  the 
records  of  the  College  are  introduced  with  the  follow- 
ing preamble  ;  "  The  laws,  liberties,  and  orders,  of 
Harvard  College,  confirmed  by  the  Overseers  and 
President  of  the  College  in  the  years  1642,  1643, 
1644,  1645,  1646,  and  published  to  the  scholars  for 
the  perpetual  preservation  of  their  welfare  and  gov 
ernment." 

In  these  "  laws,  liberties,  and  orders,"  the  term 
"  fellows "  is  not  applied  to  any  class  of  instructors 
or  rulers,  as  it  would  have  been,  if  any  having  that 
denomination  then  constituted  a  part  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  College.  The  term  "  tutor  "  occurs  fre- 
quently, and  the  term  "  fellows  "  once  ;  but  in  the 
sense  of  "  companions  "  (being  rendered  in  an  accom- 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  271 

panying  Latin  translation  "  sodales,"  and  not  "  socii"),    CHAPTER 

and  is  used  in  direct  contrast  with  the  term  "  tutor."  

— "  The  scholars  shall  attend  the  lectures,  and  if  of 
any  thing  they  doubt,  they  shall  inquire  of  their  fel- 
lows, or,  in  case  of  non-resolution,  modestly  of  their 
tutors."  A  use  of  terms  indicating  almost  conclusive- 
ly, that  "  tutor  "  and  "  fellow  "  had  not  then  in  the 
College  an  identical  meaning. 

The  only  instance  in  which  this  term  appears  in  the 
records  of  the  College  before  1650,  in  a  sense  ap- 
plicable to  instructors,  is  in  an  original  contract,  in- 
serted in  those  records,  and  signed  by  one  Richard 
Taylor.  The  contract  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Presi- 
dent Dunster,  and  is  dated  on  the  13th  of  January, 
1646-7.  In  it  Taylor,  after  declaring,  that,  "  where- 
as he  is  in  possession,  on  a  tenancy  of  fifteen  years, 
of  a  shop  in  Boston,  which  had  been  given  to  the 
College  for  ever  by  Major  Robert  Sedgwick,"  to 
which  "five  years  more  had  been  added  by  Henry 
Dunster,  President  of  Harvard  College,"  the  said 
Richard  accordeth  to  pay  a  specified  rent,  and  leave 
the  same  in  good  repair,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  "  to 
Harvard  College,  the  President  and  Fellows  thereof." 

This  entry  indicates  very  clearly  two  things ;  that 
the  term  "  fellows "  had  not  acquired  any  authori- 
tative use,  and  that  its  introduction  was  then  contem- 
plated by  Dunster.  The  deed  of  Sedgwick  was  "  to 
the  College."  The  extension  of  the  lease,  five  years, 
was  by  "  the  President."  The  tenement  was  to  be 
delivered  at  the  end  of  the  term  "  to  Harvard  Col- 
lege," the  only  name  by  which  it  was  then  capable 
of  being  legally  contracted  with.  No  mention  is 
made  of  President  and  Fellows,  until  all  the  essential 
parts  of  the  contract  were  closed.  These  terms  were 


272  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   then    introduced,    probably,    in    expectation    that    a 

XIII. 

—  change  would  take  place  in  the  name  of  the  society 
before  Taylor's  lease  terminated.  If  it  did,  these 
terms  would  be  directory  to  the  tenant.  If  it  did  not, 
they  would  be  surplusage,  and  could  not  vitiate.  In 
fact,  the  change  did  take  place. 

No  argument,  in  favor  of  the  technical  use  of  the 
term  "  fellow "  in  this  country,  antecedent  to  the 
charter  of  1650,  can  be  drawn  from  the  early  forms 
of  induction  of  "  Fellows  "  or  "  Socii."  These  ap- 
pear upon  the  College  records,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Dunster.  But  none  of  them  were  inserted  antecedent 
to  1650.  They  are  recorded  in  the  same  page  with 
similar  forms  used  in  respect  to  the  Overseers,  and 
no  evidence  or  reasonable  pretence  exists,  that  either 
kind  of  form  was  ever  used  in  the  College  prior  to 
the  date  of  that  charter.  Such  is  all  the  light  to  be 
derived  from  the  records  of  the  College,  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  technical  construction  of  the  term  "  fel- 
lows," on  which  the  claim  of  Sever  and  Welsteed  was 
founded. 

The  result  is,  that,  antecedent  to  1650,  no  class 
of  persons  was  known  in  the  College  by  the  gen- 
eral, authorized  denomination  of  "  fellows."  At  that 
early  period  there  were  two  or  three  persons,  who 
held  the  station  of  tutors;  but  the  President  practi- 
cally concentrated  in  himself  all  the  powers  of  the 
institution,  and  took  the  chief  agency  in  the  office 
of  instruction.  The  probability  is,  that,  when  the 
charter  was  drafted,  Dunster  selected  "  President 
and  Fellows,"  as  the  term  most  appropriate  and 
scholastic,  to  become  the  corporate  name  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  College,  without  intending  to  indicate 
any  class  of  men  as  exclusively  eligible,  or  any  aca- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  273 

demic    quality  as    essential.     This    seems   to    be  the   CHA*TER 
plain  view  common  sense  suggests,  of  the  origin  of  — 
these  terms  in  the  charter. 

The  general  language  of  this  instrument  gives  even  "Fellows, 
less  color  to  the  claim  of  Sever  and  Welsteed.     The  >« the 

charter. 

selection  of  "  President  and  Fellows,"  as  the  name 
of  the  Corporation,  implied,  in  respect  to  either,  no 
special  qualification  or  duty,  even  upon  the  supposition 
that  there  had  previously  existed,  in  connexion  with 
the  College,  persons  to  whom  either  designation  had 
been  applied.  Either  President  or  Fellow  might  be 
resident  or  non-resident,  employed  in  instruction  or 
not ;  these  qualifications  or  duties  wholly  depending, 
by  force  of  the  charter,  upon  the  unrestricted  exercise 
of  the  authority  to  choose  and  to  regulate,  vested  in 
the  Corporation  by  that  instrument. 

With  respect  to  the  position,  that  the  five  persons 
named  in  the  charter  were  resident  fellows,  there 
cannot  be  a  question,  that  some  were  non-residents, 
and  neither  engaged  in  instruction  nor  receiving  sti- 
pend ;  it  being  altogether  incredible,  that,  at  this 
early  period,  when  the  College  was  struggling  with 
poverty,  and  actually  dependent  for  its  existence  on 
charity,  when  the  number  of  students  had  at  no 
time  exceeded  twenty-five,  and  generally  could  not 
have  amounted  to  sixteen,  it  should  yet  maintain  a 
corps  of  five  resident  instructors,  besides  the  Presi- 
dent. In  1674,  their  number  appears  by  the  records 
to  have  been  three,  called  a  senior,  a  second,  and  a 
third  fellow.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  believe,  that, 
from  the  foundation  of  the  College  until  that  time, 
the  number  of  resident  instructors  was  ever  greater, 
or  that  it  was  increased  for  many  years  afterwards. 
Notwithstanding  the  deficiency  of  the  early  records 

VOL.  i.  35 


274  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  Of  the   College,   it  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt,   that 
xnr. 

-  there  were  always  some  of  the  five  members  of  the 
Corporation,  neither  resident,  nor  giving  instruction, 
nor  receiving  stipend.  Those  records  satisfactorily 
show,  that,  as  early  as  1666,  there  were  fellows,  non- 
resident, who  did  not  receive  stipend  ;  since  they  pre- 
scribe certain  duties  to  be  performed  by  such  as  are 
fellows  of  the  College  and  receive  salaries,  and  espe- 
cially that  they  "  shall  have  their  constant  residence 
in  the  College."*  A  provision,  which  would  scarce- 
ly have  been  made,  if  there  had  been  no  fellows, 
except  such  as  were  resident  instructors,  receiving 
stipend. 

^The'cor  The  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College 
Eow'lc-'"  being  the  only  Corporation  in  the  Province,  and  so 
quired.  continuing  during  the  whole  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, they  early  assumed,  and  had  by  common  usage 
conceded  to  them,  the  name  of  "  The  Corporation," 
by  which  they  designate  themselves  in  all  the  early 
records.  Their  proceedings  are  recorded  as  being 
done  "  at  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation,"  or  intro- 
duced by  the  formula,  "  It  is  ordered  by  the  Corpora- 
tion," without  stating  the  number  or  the  names  of 
the  members  present,  until  April  19th,  1675,  when, 
under  President  Oakes,  the  names  of  those  present 
were  first  entered  on  the  records,  and  afterwards 
they  were  frequently,  though  not  uniformly,  inserted. 

Proceed-         In  the    year   1674,  the  Corporation  had  been  re- 

ings  of  *  ' 

Dec.  11,      duced    by   death    and    other   causes    to    three    mem- 

1674.  • 

bers,  besides  Dr.  Hoar,  the  President.  These  were 
Gookin  and  Thacher,  both  resident  instructors,  and 
Richards,  the  Treasurer.  On  the  special  recommen- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  L. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  275 


dation  of  the  Overseers,  the    Corporation    proceeded   CHAPTER 

xnr. 
to  fill  up  the  vacancies  in  their  body,  and  elected  three  

non-residents,  all  of  whom  retained  their  seats  in  the 
board  without  becoming  resident,  or  engaging  in  in-  . 
struction,  or  receiving  stipend.  These  three  were 
Urian  Oakes,  minister  of  Cambridge,  Thomas  Shep- 
ard,  minister  of  Charlestown,  Increase  Mather,  min- 
ister in  Boston.  The  Overseers,  instead  of  question-  Jan.  15, 
ing  their  eligibility,  or  requiring  from  them  residence 
in  the  College,  approved  them  as  being  orderly  elected, 
and  entreated  them  to  accept  their  trust.  From  this 
time,  it  is  apparent  from  the  College  records,  that  a 
majority  of  the  five  fellows  were  non-residents  ;  and 
the  distinction  between  resident  and  non-resident  fel- 
lows is  plainly  and  frequently  to  be  seen  in  them. 
Sometimes  they  were  elected  under  the  name  of  "Fel- 
lows of  the  College,"  in  which  case  they  sometimes 
are  found  enumerated  among  the  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration, and  sometimes  they  do  not  appear  to  have 
taken  their  seats  in  consequence  of  such  election.  In 
January,  1678,  upon  the  death  of  Thomas  Shepard,  Proceed- 
minister  of  Charlestown,  the  Overseers  passed  a  vote,  1678. 
recommending  to  the  Corporation  to  choose  a  Fellow 
in  his  room,  "  and  one  to  officiate  in  the  place,  if  they 
judge  it  needful."  The  Corporation,  judging  that  one 
to  officiate  in  the  place  was  not  needful,  chose  "  Mr. 
John  Sherman,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Watertown, 
to  be  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,  all  consenting." 
This  election  was  approved  by  the  Overseers  ;  and  is 
the  first  instance  in  which  this  designation,  "  Fellow 
of  the  Corporation,"  was  applied  to  a  member  of  that 
body  on  its  records. 

No   other  light  on  the  subject  of  this  research  is 
given  by  the  College  records  antecedent  to  the  judg- 


276  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


XIII. 


CHAPTER  ment  against  the  charter  of  the  Colony,  in  1684. 
Nothing,  however,  is  more  clear  from  those  early 
records,  than  that,  up  to  this  time,  persons,  not  having 
the  character  of  residents,  instructors,  or  stipendiaries, 
had  been  elected  members  of  the  Corporation,  and 
continued  members  without  its  being  required  of  them 
to  take  upon  themselves  any  one  of  these  characters. 
It  is  equally  manifest  by  the  records,  that  this  course 
of  proceeding  received  the  uniform  sanction  of  the 
board  of  Overseers. 

By  the  revocation  of  the  colonial  charter  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  1684,  the  charter  of  the  College  was, 
by  necessary  construction,  also  vacated.  *  In  relation 
to  the  future,  both  the  Colony  and  the  College  were 
in  a  state  of  utter  uncertainty.  The  officers  of  the 
seminary  naturally  felt  reluctant  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility of  managing  its  funds,  or  conducting  its  ad- 
ministration. In  these  difficulties,!  Joseph  Dudley 
assumed  the  authority,  under  the  commission  he  held 
as  Governor  of  the  Colony,  to  organize  the  College. 
On  the  23d  of  July,  1686,  he  appeared  with  his  Coun- 
cil at  Cambridge  and  appointed  the  Rev.  Increase 
Mather  Rector,  and  John  Leverett  and  William  Brat- 
tle Tutors.  The  records  do  not  indicate  the  state  of 
the  Corporation  after  this  event  until  June  2d,  1690, 
when  they  state,  that  "  at  a  meeting  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, present  Major  John  Richards,  Treasurer,  Nehe- 
miah  Hobart,  John  Leverett,  and  William  Brattle,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Gookin  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton 
Mather  were  chosen  Fellows  of  the  Corporation," 
which  was  thus  composed  of  a  Rector,  two  resident, 
three  non-resident  Fellows,  and  a  Treasurer. 

From  this   period   until   the  year  1707,  when  the 

*  See  Mass.  Hist  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  III.  p.  126. 
t  See  above,  p.  58. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  277 

charter  of  1650  was  revived,  under  the  auspices  of    CHAPTER 

the   same  Dudley,*  the  successive   Governors  of  the  '- — 

Province  were  accustomed  to  assume  the  whole  con- 
trol, in  respect  to  the  organization  of  the  College. 
The  short,  turbulent,  and  grasping  administration  of 
Andros  had  no  important  effect  on  its  affairs.  Dud- 
ley, Phips,  Stoughton,  and  Bellamont  were  all  friends 
of  the  institution.  Their  measures  were  in  concur- 
rence with  the  wishes  of  those,  who  had  its  interests 
at  heart.  In  the  unsettled  state  of  the  government 
of  the  Colony,  and  the  consequent  uncertainty  con- 
cerning the  fate  of  the  College,  its  friends  and  offi- 
cers were  naturally  desirous  to  place  it  under  the 
protection  of  the  chief  magistrate. 

In  all  the   charters,   and  in  every  organization  of  state  of 

i        /~i  •  f  i  i'ii  things  in 

the  Corporation  occurring  after  the  new  colonial  char-  1692. 
ter  in  1692,  a  majority  of  the  Fellows  were  non- 
resident, and  neither  instructors  nor  stipendiaries. 
While  the  number  of  the  Corporation  was  seven,  that 
of  the  resident  instructors  never  exceeded  two.  After 
Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton,  in  1696,  took  upon 
himself  to  organize  the  Corporation,  the  number  of 
that  body  was  increased  to  ten,  twelve,  and  once  even 
to  fifteen ;  yet  the  number  of  resident  instructors,  it 
is  believed,  at  no  time,  exceeded  three.  It  is  evi- 
dent, therefore,  that  between  the  revocation  of  the 
charter  of  1650,  in  1684,  and  its  revival  by  the  vote 
of  the  General  Court  in  1707,  the  claim,  on  the  part 
of  resident  instructors,  of  an  exclusive  right  to  be 
Fellows  of  the  Corporation,  was  as  groundless  and 
without  just  pretence,  as  at  previous  periods. 

In  organizing  the  Corporation  under  this  vote  of 

*  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  pp.  159,  160. 


278  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  the  General  Court,  Governor  Dudley,  with  their  ap- 
— ' —  probation,  as  well  as  with  that  of  the  Overseers,  had 
filled  up  the  number  of  five  Fellows,  with  three  non- 
resident fellows,  Hobart,  Brattle,  and  Pemberton,  and 
two  resident,  FJynt  and  Remington. 

It  appears  by  the  records  of  the  Corporation,  that 
these  five  Fellows  were  at  that  time  called  "  Fellows  of 
the  House."  The  equivocal  meaning  of  this  term, 
from  its  being  also  applied  to  instructors,  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  Corporation,  was  perceived  by 
President  Leverett ;  for,  in  his  duplicate  record  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Corporation  and  the  Overseers,  he 
designates  the  persons  abovenamed  thus,  "  Fellows 
of  the  House,  i.  e.  of  the  Corporation."  * 

Flynt  and  Remington  were  tutors  as  well  as  "  fel- 
lows." At  the  same  time  there  was  a  third  tutor, 
John  Whiting,  who,  by  courtesy,  had,  as  well  as  they, 
the  title  of  "  Fellow  of  the  House,"  or  resident 
Fellow,  and  yet  had  no  right  to  be  a  "  Fellow  of  the 
Corporation";  and  this  indeed  he  could  not  be,  without 
displacing  one  of  the  non-resident  members  of  that 
body,  inasmuch  as  by  the  charter  the  number  of 
"  fellows  "  was  restricted  to  seven. 

A  year  did  not  elapse  before  an  attempt  was  made, 
as  appears  upon  the  records,  to  distinguish  between 
these  two  classes  of  fellows.  On  the  14th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1708,  the  expulsion  of  a  student  for  an  offence, 
is  stated  to  have  been  done  by  "  the  President  and 
resident  Fellows,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
Faculty  of  the  non-resident  Fellows  of  this  House."  In  this 

the  Col- 
lege,         vote  is  to  be   seen  the   first  shadowing  out  of  what 

at  this  day  is  called  the  Faculty  of  the  College,  in 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  8. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  279 

contradistinction  to  the  Corporation.     The  same  form   CHAPTER 

~                          .    .,                .                    i         T    •       i         XIIL 
oi  vote,   on   a   similar  occasion,    was  adopted   in  the  

March  following.  Nothing  occurs  to  throw  any 
light  on  the  point  on  which  this  controversy  turned, 
until  the  20th  of  August,  1711,  when,  on  the  resig- 
nation of  Remington,  John  Whiting  was  chosen  "  Fel- 
low of  the  Corporation."  On  this  occasion,  Whiting, 
who  had  been  for  several  years  known  as  Tutor  and 
"  Fellow  of  the  House,"  but  had  never,  in  conse- 
quence, been  deemed,  or  pretended  to  be,  a  member 
of  the  Corporation,  was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  that 
board.  The  circumstance  probably  showed  the  Cor- 
poration the  necessity  of  dropping  altogether  the  name 
of  "  Fellow  of  the  House  "  as  applicable  to  a  member 
of  that  body,  and  establishing  for  themselves  the  more 
convenient,  ancient,  and  appropriate  title  of  "  Fellow 
of  the  Corporation."  From  this  time,  therefore,  the 
term  "  Fellow  of  the  College "  or  "  House  "  was 
restricted  by  their  use  to  resident  instructors,  who 
were  not  members  of  the  Corporation,  by  virtue  of 
such  election.  Accordingly,  on  the  24th  of  December, 
1711,  Joseph  Stevens  was  chosen  "Fellow  of  the 
College,  or  House,"  and  as  such  was  approved  by 
that  board,  in  the  language  of  the  records,  "  to  supply 
a  vacancy  in  one  of  the  Fellowships  of  the  House." 

Upon   this    election     Stevens   was   inaugurated    as  inaugura- 
"  Fellow   of  the    House,"  "  secundum   formam  anti-  Feiiowof 

the  House, 

quitus  prsescriptam ;  "  a  formality  which  had  been  Feb-  14J- 
discontinued  since  the  revival  of  the  charter  of  1650, 
and  had  never  been  practised  with  regard  to  non- 
resident fellows.  The  proceedings  on  the  occasion 
are  described  with  minuteness  by  President  Leverett, 
in  his  Journal ;  "  the  solemnity,"  he  writes,  "  being 
the  first  of  this  sort  that  was  celebrated,  since  the 


280  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   restoration  of   Harvard   College   to    its  first  constitu- 

XIII 

'—  tion."     By   the  President's   Latin  address,   which  is 

transcribed  at  large,  it  appears,  that  these  formalities 
were  not  revived  solely  on  his  suggestion,  but  by 
the  express  injunction  of  the  Governor  and  Over- 
seers. *  The  object  in  thus  reviving  the  early  form  of 
inaugurating  resident  fellows,  on  an  occasion  when 
the  distinction  between  "  Fellows  of  the  House,"  and 
"  Fellows  of  the  Corporation,"  was  first  introduced, 
was  obviously  to  make  that  distinction  plain  and  pal- 
pable, and  to  the  end  it  might  be  understood,  that, 
being  chosen  "  Fellow  of  the  House  "  conferred  no 
right  to  a  seat  in  the  Corporation,  and  imposed  a  very 
different  class  of  duties.  Accordingly  Stevens  made 
no  claim,  and  was  never  admitted  to  a  "seat  in  the 
Corporation  in  consequence  of  that  election  and  in- 
auguration. Upon  the  resignation  of  Whiting,  Stevens 
was  elected  "  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  and  on 
the  same  day  Edward  Holyoke  was  elected  "  Fellow 
of  the  House."  Here  the  distinction  was  maintained, 
in  direct  contrast,  in  two  elections  made  on  the  same 
day.  It  is  apparent,  that  the  Overseers  knew  of  this 
distinction,  and  that  it  was  adopted  with  their  entire 
approbation ;  for  on  the  same  day  (9th  of  July,  1712,) 
Stevens  was  presented  by  the  President  to  the  Over- 
seers, as  chosen  "  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  and 
Holyoke  as  "  Fellow  of  the  House,"  and  both  were 
respectively  as  such  approved. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1712,  Benjamin  Wads- 
worth  was   presented   to  the  Overseers  by  President 
Leverett  as  being  chosen  "  a  Fellow  of  the  Corpora 
tion    in  the  room    of  Nehemiah   Hobart,   deceased," 
and  approved  as  such  by  that  board. 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  84. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  281 

In  February,  1713,  Stevens,  having  been  settled  as  CHAPTER 

pastor  over  the  church  in  Charlestown,  resigned  his — 

seat  as  a  member  of  the  Corporation ;  and,  on  the 
7th  of  April  following,  Hoi  joke  was  chosen  in  his 
place,  "  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  and  Robie 
"  a  Fellow  of  the  House."  Both  were  reported  to  the 
Overseers,  and  approved  in  their  several  stations  by 
that  board. 

In  February,  1715-1716,  Holyoke  resigned  his 
office  of  Fellow  of  the  Corporation. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1716,  the  Corporation  passed  Limitation 
a  vote,  "  that  no  Tutor,  or  Fellow  of  the  House,  now  office  of 
or  henceforth  to   be    chosen,   shall   hold  a  fellowship  the  House. 
with  a  salary  for  more  than  three  years,  except  con- 
tinued by  a  new  election." 

On  the  same  day  they  chose  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Stevens,  minister  of  Charlestown,  "  a  Fellow  of  the 
Corporation,"  and  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever  "  Fellow  of  the 
House,"  and  presented  both  to  the  Overseers,  by  whom, 
on  the  16th  of  April,  they  were  "accepted  in  their 
respective  stations,  to  which  they  are  chosen  accord- 
ingly." Robie  was  then  also  Fellow  of  the  House. 
At  this  time  Sever  made  no  claim  to  be  admitted  as 
a  member  of  the  Corporation.  This  board  was  now 
composed  of  four  non-resident  and  only  one  resi- 
dent Fellow  (Flynt).  The  Corporation  began  to  per- 
ceive the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  introduction 
into  the  College  government  of  very  young  men  with- 
out limitation  of  time,  who,  if  they  possessed  good 
talents  would  speedily  be  induced  to  resign,  and,  if 
they  did  not  possess  the  ability  to  become  eminent 
in  a  profession,  might  be  fixed  upon  the  College 
for  life.  Flynt  had  then  been  a  tutor  for  sixteen 
years,  and  Robie,  who  had  held  that  office  three 

VOL.  i.  36 


282  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  years,  they  might  apprehend  would  be  equally  per- 
• ' —  manent. 

In  order  therefore  to  prevent  unsuitable  instruc- 
tors fixing  themselves  permanently  on  the  College, 
they  passed  the  vote,  limiting  the  continuance  in 
office  of  a  tutor,  or  Fellow  of  the  House,  to  three 
years,  except  with  "  a  new  election."  As  nothing 
could  be  more  wise  than  a  precaution  of  this  kind, 
so  it  could  be  no  occasion  of  just  complaint  to  Sever 
or  any  other  tutor  subsequently  chosen,  as  the  tenure 
of  their  office  was  explained  to  them  before  their 
election,  and  they  knew  the  condition  on  which  they 
accepted  of  it. 

In  September,  1717,  Colman  and  Appleton  were 
chosen  Fellows  of  the  Corporation,  in  place  of  Brattle 
and  Pemberton,  deceased,  and  were  approved  subse- 
quently as  such  by  the  Overseers.  Thus  the  propor- 
tion of  non-resident  to  resident  fellows  remained  un- 
changed, four  to  one. 

April  28th,  1719,  it  appears  by  the  records  of 
the  Corporation,  that,  "  the  three  years  since  Mr. 
Nicholas  Sever  was  chosen  to  be  Fellow  of  the  House 
being  expired,  he  is  now  renewedly  chosen  Fellow 
of  the  House  for  three  years." 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1720,  the  Corporation  voted, 
"  That  a  fourth  Fellow  of  the  House  be  now  elected, 
there  being  occasion  for  another  by  reason  of  the 
great  number  of  students  now  at  the  College." 

The  Corporation  immediately  chose  William  Wei- 
steed  to  be  the  fourth  fellow,  and  the  President  was 
desired  to  present  him  to  the  Overseers,  "for  their 
approbation  and  allowance,  as  elected  for  three  years." 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1720,  the  following  votes 
appear  on  the  records  of  the  Overseers.  "  Voted, 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  283 


that  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever,  having  been  rechosen  by  the  CHAPTER 
Corporation  a  Fellow  of  the  House  for  three  years,  — 
be  allowed  and  approved.  2dly.  That  Mr.  Welsteed, 
having  been  chosen  by  the  Corporation  a  Fellow  of 
the  House  for  three  years,  be  allowed  and  approved." 
At  this  time  there  existed  in  the  board  of  Overseers 
and  House  of  Representatives  a  party,  having  it  for 
their  object  to  effect  a  change  in  the  Corporation, 
either  by  the  voluntary  resignation  or  compulsory  re- 
moval of  some  obnoxious  members  of  that  board.  The 
schemes  of  this  party  extended  apparently  to  Presi- 
dent Leverett  himself,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  nature 
of  their  attacks,  and  by  their  refusal  of  grants  for  his 
necessary  support.  At  the  head  of  this  party  were  Treatment 
Paul  Dudley  and  Chief  Justice  Sewall.  On  the  6th  dentLever- 
of  December,  1720,*  President  Leverett  addressed  a  General' 
supplicatory  letter  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
stating  his  "  difficulties,  inconveniences,  discourage- 
ments," and  his  "  want  of  necessary  support,"  and 
ending  with  expressing  the  utter  "  impossibility  of  his 
entertaining  so  much  as  a  thought  that  his  application 
would  be  neglected."  It  was,  however,  altogether 
disregarded.  So  that  he  began  to  infer  from  their 
proceedings,  that  it  was  their  "  mind  to  starve  him 
out  of  the  service."  If  such  be  "  their  mind,"  he 
adds,  "  it  is  but  letting  me  know,  and  I  will  not 
put  the  House  to  exercise  that  cruelty."  f  This 
was  the  moment  which  Dudley  took  to  assail  the 
President  with  calumny.  He  declared  openly  in 
the  House,  that  "  the  President  had  not  given  three 
expositions  in  the  Hall  for  a  twelvemonth,  and  that 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LI.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  LII. 


284  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  one  of  the   fellows  had  said,  he  would  give  his  oath 

XIII.  ,.    .      „ 

of  it." 


This  drew  from  President  Leverett  a  letter,  dated 
on  the  15th  of  December,  1720,*  addressed  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  declaring 
positively,  that  "  it  was  false,"  protesting  against  the 
injustice  of  the  representation,  and  demanding  "  the 
name  of  the  fellow  who  was  thus  disposed  to  make 
oath  to  a  falsehood."  He  had  inquired  of  all  the 
fellows,  and  all  had  denied  the  fact.  "  I  will  not 

Paul  Dud-    pretend  to  say,"  he  adds,  "what  the  gentleman  (Dud- 
ley's con-      i\-i«  ii'  •  T 

duct  in  re-    ley )   designed  to  serve   by  his  representation :    but  1 

spectto  JJ  ,j 

President     am  sure  he   could  not  pretend  to  serve  his  country 

Leverett. 

by  such  an  averment,  —  our  just  country  are  not 
willing  to  be  served  by  a  falsehood."  How  Dudley 
relieved  himself  from  the  imputation  cast  upon  him 
by  President  Leverett  in  his  letter,  does  not  appear. 
Either  from  principle  or  policy  he  had  joined  with 
Chief  Justice  Sewall  in  measures  to  introduce  new 
influences  into  the  Corporation.  Their  course  of  pro- 
ceedings, in  relation  to  the  attack  of  Pierpont  on  that 
body,  sufficiently  indicates  little  delicacy  as  to  the 
means,  and  a  settled  determination  as  to  the  end. 

In  June,  1721,  the  proposed  foundation  of  a  Pro- 
fessorship of  Divinity  in  the  College  by  a  Baptist  had 
excited  an  alarm,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Cor- 
poration reciprocated  the  liberal  spirit  of  Mr.  Hollis, 
by  "  leaving  to  him  the  limitation  of  the  communion 
of  his  Professor,"f  had  no  tendency  to  allay  it.  Such 
was  the  moment  which  Sever  and  Welsteed  chose, 
for  introducing  this  new  element  of  discord  ;  and  they 
selected  Sewall  as  the  medium  for  its  conveyance. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LIII.  f  See  above,  pp.  243-245. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

President  Leverett,  in  his  Diary  of  the  date  of  the  CHAPTER 
17th  of  June,  1721,  states,  "  Upon  the  motion  of 
Judge  Sewall,  to  whom  Mr.  Sever  and  Welsteed  had 
written  a  letter,  His  Excellency  appointed  an  Over- 
seers' meeting."  But  Governor  Shute  being  satisfied 
that  he  had  exceeded  his  powers,  as  a  previous  re- 
quest of  the  Corporation  was  then  necessary  to  au- 
thorize a  special  call  of  the  board  of  Overseers,  the 
meeting  thus  called  was  dissolved,  and  a  new  one  was 
summoned  on  the  23d  of  June,  1721,  the  previous 
consent  of  the  Corporation  having  been  obtained.  * 

That  two  tutors,  young  men,  who  had  both  been 
chosen  "  fellows "  under  express  votes  of  the  Cor- 
poration, sanctioned  by  the  board  of  Overseers,  which 
limited  their  name  and  powers  to  the  College,  or 
"  House,"  and  by  long  known  and  approved  prac- 
tical construction  excluded  them  from  a  seat  in  the 
Corporation  ;  one  of  whom  had  held  that  office  five 
years  without  making  any  claim  to  such  seat,  and  both 
of  whom  had  been  elected  to  it  and  accepted  the 
office  under  a  limitation  of  three  years,  which  was  in 
itself  inconsistent  with  that  claim  ;  should  at  once, 
and  at  such  a  moment  of  theological  discontent, 
awaken  into  an  imagination  of  rights  withheld  from 
them,  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition, 
that  they  had  encouragement,  as  the  event  proved, 
from  members  of  the  board  of  Overseers  themselves, 
or  from  powerful  influences  in  the  legislature,  prepared 
to  second  and,  if  possible,  make  good  these  most  ex- 
traordinary pretensions. 

Viewed  in  the  calm  light  of  history,  and  under  the 
guidance  of  the  familiar  principles  which  common  sense 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  193. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    suggests,  it  cannot  fail,  at  this  day,  to  be  a  subject 

Xllf 

.  of  surprise,  that,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  Col- 

lege at  that  time,  this  claim  should  have  been  enter- 
tained by  a  board  of  Overseers  having  no  personal 
or  party  interest  to  serve,  any  longer  than  was  neces- 
sary to  satisfy  the  memorialists  that  their  pretensions 
had  been  fairly  considered,  were  well  understood,  and 
intelligently  decided.  When,  therefore,  the  relations 
of  the  subject  strongly  indicate,  that  the  claim  itself 
had  its  origin  in  the  expectation,  probably  in  the 
knowledge,  that  it  would  receive  support  in  that 
board,  and  when  we  find,  in  fact,  that  it  was  there 
encouraged  and  sustained,  and,  so  far  as  a  vote  of 
a  majority  of  the  Overseers  had  effect,  was  com- 
pletely successful ;  and  that  finally  it  was  defeated 
only  by  the  firmness  of  the  Governor  of  the  Province  ; 
it  is  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  the  avowed  and 
ostensible  were  not  the  real  motives  which  ac- 
tuated a  majority  of  the  board  of  Overseers,  in  adopt- 
ing the  measures  in  which  their  deliberations  termi- 
nated. Considering  also  the  violence  of  the  religious 
parties,  which  then  divided  the  Province,  each  having 
for  its  object  to  gain  or  retain  possession  of  the  Col- 
lege, it  cannot  be  questioned,  that  the  opportunity  a 
support  of  this  claim  offered,  to  remove  at  once  from 
the  Corporation  three  of  its  members,  and  those  most 
obnoxious  for  their  religious  opinions,  was  the  gov- 
erning motive  of  their  proceedings.  Indeed,  no  pos- 
sibility of  doubt  remains,  when,  in  the  conclusion  of 
this  long  and  eventful  struggle,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, in  July,  1722,  are  found,  as  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  show  hereafter,  declaring  without  any  con- 
cealment, that  their  object  was  to  remove  those  three 
"  Fellows,"  Appleton,  Colman,  and  Wadsworth,  from 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  287 

their  seats   in    the   Corporation,   and    that    Governor  CHAPTER 

Shute,  by  making  it  a  condition  that  they  should  not 

be  removed,  had  "  defeated  their  design  and  purpose." 

The  nature  of  the  project  was,  in  itself,  most  ex- 
traordinary, and,  considering  the  relations  of  the  re- 
spective individuals  whom  it  was  proposed,  on  the  one 
hand  to  remove,  and  on  the  other  to  introduce,  alto- 
gether irreconcilable  with  any  true  regard  to  the 
interests  of  the  College. 

At  the  moment  this  design  was  avowed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  Wadsworth  had  been  ten 
years,  Appleton  and  Colman  five  years,  members  of 
the  Corporation,  elected  according  to  early  and,  until 
this  time,  unquestioned  practice.  They  were  all  of 
mature  age,  clergymen  of  great  learning,  weight,  and 
influence  in  the  Province  ;  active,  able,  and  successful 
in  advancing  the  prosperity  of  the  institution.  One 
of  them  (Colman)  was  the  confidential  friend  and 
correspondent  of  Thomas  Hollis,  and  the  selected 
medium  of  that  unparalleled  series  of  bounties  he  was 
then  bestowing  on  the  College.  These  three  were 
the  individuals  the  House  of  Representatives  claimed 
of  the  Governor  the  right  to  remove,  for  the  purpose 
of  introducing  three  tutors,  comparatively  young  men, 
little  known,  and  without  personal  weight,  influence, 
or  experience. 

The  evidence  upon  this  point  of  controversy  has 
been  thus  traced  through  the  College  records  with  the 
more  minuteness,  because  the  utter  want  of  a  colorable 
pretence  for  the  exclusion  of  all  these  non-resident 
Fellows  from  seats  in  the  Corporation,  by  force  of 
either  the  terms  of  the  charter  of  1650,  or  of  more 
than  seventy  years'  construction  and  practice  under 
it,  renders  the  conclusion  unavoidable,  that  the  at- 


288 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   tempt,  in  1722,  to  sweep  all  the  non-resident  fellows 

XIIL       from  their  seats  in  the  Corporation,  had  no  foundation 

either  in  expediency  or  sound  principle;  but  was  a 
spasmodic  exertion,  made  under  the  influence  of 
strong  interests  or  strong  passions,  which,  when  they 
prevail  in  political  or  religious  assemblies,  seldom  fail 
to  create  a  regard  for  the  end,  and  a  disregard  for 
the  means ;  and,  in  eagerness  for  success,  to  cause 
to  be  trampled  down  every  moral,  social,  and  even 
religious  obligation,  which  impedes  their  progress. 


PRESIDENT  S    CHAIR. 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  LIV. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  289 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Proceedings  of  the  Overseers  on  Sever  and  Welsteed's  Memorial. — 
The  Rev.  Joseph  Sewall  chosen  Fellow  of  the  Corporation.  —  Over- 
seers do  not  approve  this  Choice,  and  recommend  the  Election  of  a 
Resident  Fellow.  —  Corporation  choose  Tutor  Robie.  —  Overseers 
postpone  their  Approval  of  this  Choice.  —  Corporation  declare  Sever 
no  longer  Fellow  of  the  House.  —  Overseers  declare  him  still  to  be 
Fellow  of  the  House.  —  Corporation  reinstate  Sever.  —  Overseers 
apply  to  the  General  Court  to  enlarge  the  Corporation.  —  General 
Court  refuse,  but  resolve  that  Fellows  of  the  Corporation  should 
be  resident  Fellows.  —  Governor  Shute  conditionally  consents. — 
House  of  Representatives  request  him  to  make  his  Consent  abso- 
lute.—  Shute  refuses. — A  fifth  Tutor  chosen  by  the  Corporation. 
—  Negatived  by  the  Overseers,  who  approve  the  Election  of  Robie 
and  negative  the  Limitation  of  a  Tutor's  Office  to  three  Years. — 
House  of  Representatives  revive  their  Resolve,  and  intimate  that 
the  Corporation  have  not  kept  within  their  Charter.  —  Corporation 
claim  a  Hearing.  —  Denied  by  the  General  Court.  —  Attempt  to 
make  Members  of  the  Corporation  resign.  —  Its  Failure.  —  Professor 
Wigglesworth  chosen  Fellow  of  the  Corporation.  —  Negatived  by 
the  Overseers.  —  House  of  Representatives  again  revive  their 
Resolve.  —  The  Council  give  a  Hearing  to  the  Corporation. — 
Final  Defeat  of  the  Project  of  the  House  of  Representatives. — 
Tribute  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Corporation. 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  on  the  23d  of  June,    CHAPTER 

XIV 

1721,    a   committee    was    appointed   to   inquire   into  ! — 

"  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  the  memorial  of  Mr. 
Nicholas  Sever  and  Mr.  William  Welsteed,  and  con- 
sider what  is  proper  and  necessary  to  be  done  upon 
it,  and  make  a  report  thereof  to  the  Overseers  in 
August  next."  The  committee  were,  Judge  Sewall, 
Mr.  President  Leverett,  Judge  Davenport,  Colonel 
VOL.  i.  37 


290  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  Fitch,  Colonel  Quincy,  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Danforth, 

"YfV 

— —  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Sewall.  Previous  events 
indicate  the  views  of  Judge  Sewall  and  his  son,  but 
at  this  day  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the 
other  members  of  the  committee  who  favored  the 
claims  of  the  memorialists. 

The  Overseers  adjourned  to  the  second  day  of 
August,  for  the  special  purpose  of  receiving  the  re- 
port of  this  committee.  A  meeting  of  the  board  did 
not  take  place  on  that  day,  and  there  is  no  notice 
of  further  proceedings  on  this  memorial  before 
March,  1722.  The  intermediate  meetings  of  the 
Overseers,  in  December  and  January,  were  occupied 
with  the  election  of  Edward  Hutchinson,  Treasurer, 
in  the  place  of  White,  deceased,  and  with  those 
agitating  questions  and  altercations  concerning  the 
Hollis  Professorship  of  Divinity,  which  have  been 
already  related. 
Joseph  In  November,  1721,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Stevens, 

Sewall  t  '  r 

chosen  fei-   minister  of  the  church  in  Charlestown,  and  fellow  of 

low  of  the 

Uonp°ra  tne  Corporation,  died ;  and,  on  the  23d  of  January 
ensuing,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sewall,  pastor  of  the  South 
Church,  in  Boston,  was  chosen  by  the  President 
and  Fellows  to  supply  the  vacancy  thus  occasioned. 
The  Corporation  probably  expected  to  conciliate  Chief 
Justice  Sewall  by  this  election  of  his  son,  and,  by 
thus  introducing  a  clergyman  of  eminent  piety,  and 
a  peculiar  favorite  of  the  zealous  adherents  to  the 
Calvinistic  doctrines,  to  defeat  the  scheme  of  the 
resident  fellows.  That  scheme  was,  however,  too 
promising,  and  the  prospect  of  removing  at  once, 
from  the  Corporation  the  three  obnoxious  individuals, 
too  flattering,  to  be  abandoned  by  the  Overseers  for 
the  sake  of  either  individual  or  party  gratification. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  291 

The  choice  of  Mr.    Sewall  was  presented   to    the   CHAPTER 


XIV. 


Overseers  by  President  Leverett  on  the  next  day 
(January  24th,  1721-2)  for  their  approval.  That  prowS'by 

11  ill-  MI  •  the  Over- 

DOard  suspended  their   answer  until  the  committee  on  seers. 

the  memorial  of  Sever  and  Welsteed  should  make 
their  report.  For  a  knowledge  of  this  fact,  we  are 
solely  indebted  to  the  records  of  the  Corporation. 
Those  of  the  Overseers  take  no  notice  either  of  the 
presentation  of  Mr.  Sewall  at  that  meeting,  or  of 
the  postponement  of  their  approval.  Both  these 
occurrences  took  place  at  the  meeting  when  the 
Overseers  were  actively  engaged  in  defeating  the 
provision  in  Mr.  Hollis's  statutes,  which  rendered  a 
Baptist  eligible  to  his  professorship,  and  in  substitut- 
ing, in  place  of  the  belief  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  required  of  his  professor, 
a  declaration  of  faith  in  all  the  high  points  of  New 
England  Calvinism.  Either  the  absorbing  interest 
excited  by  this  enterprise  occasioned  the  omission  of 
a  notice  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Sewall  on  the  records 
of  the  Overseers,  or  it  was  designed  to  keep  from 
those  records  a  statement  of  the  fact,  that  Mr.  Sewall 
had  been  presented  as  an  elected  member  of  the 
Corporation,  and  not  accepted  by  the  Overseers. 

From  President  Leverett's  Diary  alone,  we  derive  Proceed- 

f  1  T  f          1  •  'lnS3    OI1 

an  account  of    the  proceedings  of  the  committee  on  sever  and 

Welsteed's 

the  memorial  of  Sever  and  Welsteed.  By  this  it  memorial. 
appears,  that  they  met  on  the  19th  of  July,  1721, 
but  came  to  no  result,  and,  after  "  some  altercations 
between  President  Leverett  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dan- 
forth  and  Mr.  Sewall,  concerning  the  state  of  the 
College,"  *  they  adjourned.  This  committee  did  not 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  202. 


292  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  meet  again  to  any  efficient  purpose,  until  the  20th  of 
-  .  —  February,  1722.  The  proceedings  on  this  occasion 
are  thus  stated  by  President  Leverett  in  his  Diary. 
"  The  committee  formed  their  report  to  this  purpose  ; 
*  That  they  are  of  opinion,  that  it  is  proper  for  the 
Corporation  to  choose  one  of  the  Resident  Fellows  of 
the  House,  or  Tutors,  to  be  a  member  of  the  Corpo- 
ration in  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Stevens,  de- 
ceased ;  7  whose  report  was  signed  by  the  chairman  of 
said  committee,  the  Honorable  Judge  Samuel  Sewall. 

"  Mem.  The  President,  being  one  of  the  committee, 
was  asked,  whether  he  consent  to  the  said  report  ; 
answered,  that  he  could  not  consent  thereunto,  because 
that  the  Corporation  had  chosen  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph 
Sewall  to  fill  up  the  vacancy  in  the  Corporation  by  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Stevens,  and  had  pre- 
sented him  to  the  Overseers,  who  had  not  declared 
themselves  thereupon,  so  that  as  to  him  the  Corpo- 
ration was  full."  * 

On  the  9th  of  March  ensuing,  this  committee 
made  their  report  to  the  Overseers,  who,  without 
noticing  the  previous  election  and  presentation  of 
Mr.  Sewall  by  the  Corporation,  accepted  it,  as  ap- 
overseera  pears  by  their  records  in  these  words,  "  That  they 
judge  it  proper,  that  the  vacancy  in  the  Corporation, 


reitowbe     made    by  the  decease  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stevens,  be 

low  of  the    filled  up  by  the  election  of  a  resident  fellow  in  his 

tion.          stead."     Thus  the  Overseers  negatived,  by  construc- 

tion, the  election  of  Mr.  Sewall,  without  its  appearing 

on  their  records,   that  such  election   had    been   ever 

made,  or  presented  to,  or  acted  upon  by,  their  board. 

Nor  should  we,  at  this  day,  be  able  to  trace  the  course 


*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  216. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  293 


XIV. 


of  this  policy,  and  the  nature  of   their  proceedings,   CHAPTER 
had  not  the  Corporation  wisely  and  faithfully  spread 
the  whole  transaction  at  length  upon  their  own  records. 

At  the  next  succeeding  meeting  of  the  Corporation 
(3d  of  April,  1722),  the  vote  of  the  Overseers  came 
under  consideration.  Their  proceedings  were  firm 
and  conciliatory ;  and  their  importance  requires  a 
statement  of  them  in  the  words  of  the  record. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge,  April  3d,  1722. 
Whereas  at  a  meeting  of  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  January  23d,  last  past,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Sewall,  pastor  of  the  Third  Church, 
in  Boston,  was  chosen  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation, 
and,  on  the  24th  day  of  the  same  January,  the  Presi- 
dent presented  the  said  Mr.  Sewall  to  the  Overseers 
for  their  acceptance  and  allowance ;  and  whereas  the 
Honorable  and  Reverend  the  Overseers  pleased  to 
suspend  their  answer  to  the  said  presentation  to  a 
further  meeting,  having  a  committee  appointed  to 
consider  of  a  memorial  laid  before  the  said  Overseers, 
and  until  the  said  committee  should  make  their  report 
thereupon,  who  made  their  report  March  9th,  1721  -2, 
in  these  words,  '  That  they  judge  it  proper,  that  the 
vacancy  in  the  Corporation,  by  the  decease  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Stevens  of  Charlestown,  be  filled  up 
by  the  election  of  a  resident  fellow  in  his  stead,'  which 
being  read,  was  accepted  by  the  Overseers;  by  the 
acceptance  of  which  report  the  election  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Joseph  Sewall,  made  by  the  Corporation  as  afore- 
said, was,  by  implication,  plainly  not  allowed  of, 
though  it  was  declared,  that  it  was  not  designed  that 
any  disrespect  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sewall  should  be  con- 
ceived to  be  offered  by  the  Overseers,  however  it 


294  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  may  seem  to  be  a  more  than  ordinary  determining 
xtv'  upon  the  Corporation :  Wherefore  it  is  voted,  That 
the  Corporation,  saving  to  themselves  the  right  of 
electing  members  of  the  Corporation,  upon  any  va- 
cancy, according  to  the  powers  vested  in  them  by  the 
College  charter,  they  will  proceed  to  fill  up  the  va- 
cancy occasioned  by  the  decease  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Stevens,  by  electing  one  of  the  Fellows  of  the  House. 
But  yet  this  shall  not,  for  the  future,  be  brought  into 
example  to  limit  the  right  of  the  Corporation  in  the 
election  of  their  members.  Hereupon  the  President 
desired  the  Fellows  of  the  Corporation  to  bring  in 
their  votes  for  the  election  of  a  Fellow  to  fill  up  the 
vacancy  in  the  Corporation,  occasioned  by  the  decease 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Stevens  ;  and  accordingly  the 
fellows  brought  in  their  votes  in  writing.  And  Mr. 

Thomas      Thomas   Robie,    one  of  the  Fellows  of  the   House, 

Robie 

chosen        was  chosen  unanimously  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation ; 

Fellow  of  J  >  ' 

theCorpo-    an(j    the    President  was  desired  to  present  the    said 

ration.  * 

Mr.  Thomas  Robie  to  the  Overseers  for  their  appro- 
bation and  allowance." 

The  result  of  this  election  was  equally  unexpected 
and  unwelcome  to  the  malecontents  in  the  board  of 
Overseers.  Neither  Sever  nor  Welsteed  had  obtained 
the  object  of  their  memorial.  Robie,  who  was  also 
a  "  resident  fellow,"  and  of  elder  appointment  than 
either,  had  obtained  the  distinction  they  solicited,  and 
for  which  he  had  not  memorialized.  The  vote  of  the 
Overseers  was  thus  complied  with ;  the  proportion 
of  resident  to  non-resident  fellows,  which  Governor 
Dudley,  in  1707,  had  sanctioned,  in  the  reinstatement 
of  the  charter  of  1650,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
Overseers  and  the  General  Court,  and  which  the 
practice  of  sixty  years,  if  not  of  the  whole  period 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  295 


XIV. 


since  that  charter,  justified,  was  restored.  Had  the  CHAPTER 
object  of  the  Overseers  been  limited  to  a  restoration 
of  the  early  proportion  of  resident  and  non-resident 
fellows,  it  was  attained,  and  they  had  every  reason 
to  be  satisfied  ;  but  their  proceedings  show  that  their 
object  was  very  different. 

When,  on  the  next  day  (4th  of  April,  1722),  the 
election  of  Robie  was  presented  to  the  Overseers  for 
approbation,  it  appears  by  their  records,  that  "  it  was 
not  agreed  to,  it  being  proper  first  to  consider  a  me- 
morial still  depending  before  the  Overseers,  formerly 
exhibited  by  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever  and  Mr.  William 
Welsteed." 

President  Leverett  gives  a  more  graphic  account 
of  this  meeting  in  these  words. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  in  the  Council 
Chamber,  Boston,  April  4th,  1722,  Mr.  Thomas  Robie 
was  presented  to  the  Overseers  in  proper  form  and 
order  by  the  President ;  but,  it  being  moved  (after  a 
vote  upon  the  presentation  of  Mr.  Robie  was  called 
for)  that  a  memorial  was  depending ;  not  without 
great  debate  and  some  heat,  this  order  was  broke  in 
upon,  and  it  was  overruled,  that  the  memorial  should 
be  considered,  and  the  vote  upon  Mr.  Robie  sus- 
pended. The  memorial  was  read,  and  Jong  debate 
thereupon.  The  meeting  concluded  by  a  resolute 
adjournment  by  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  to 
April  llth,  10  o'clock,  A.  M.  The  Governor  and  the 
President  left  them  ;  and  the  rest  continued,  and  un- 
willingly and  murmuringly  agreed."  * 

Strictly  speaking,  the  memorial  of  Sever  and  Wel- 
steed was  not  "  depending."  The  committee  had 
finished  their  deliberations  and  reported  their  opinion  ; 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  220. 


296  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   their  report  had  been  accepted  by  the  Overseers,  and 

! —  acceded  to  by  the  Corporation,  who  had,  in  conformity 

with  the  report,  elected  a  resident  fellow  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  their  board.  The  memorial  had  attained 
its  purpose,  and  the  action  of  both  boards  was  com- 
pleted. The  revival  of  that  memorial,  therefore, 
proved  that  the  design  of  those  Overseers,  by  whom 
Sever  and  Welsteed  were  countenanced,  if  not  insti- 
gated, was  not  to  restore  the  former  proportion  of 
resident  fellows  in  the  Corporation,  but  to  remove 
certain  obnoxious  individuals  from  their  seats  in  that 
board. 

In    pursuance   of    the    policy,  which   dictated  this 
memorial,  it  was  therefore  determined  to  consider  it 
yet  "  depending,"  and  thus  revive  the  discussion. 
second  Sever  and  Welsteed  immediately  followed  up,    as 

memorial  »  -1  ' 

ofp«reri      we  learn  from   the   records   of   the   Overseers,   their 

and  Wel- 
steed.        memorial  with  another  paper  subscribed  by  the  me- 
morialists,   entitled,   "  An   extract   from   the    College 
charter  of  1650,  the  English  laws,"  &c. 

No  such  paper  is  now  extant  on  the  records.  It 
appears,  however,  by  those  of  the  Overseers,  that, 
at  this  period  of  the  proceedings,  Governor  Shute 
interposed,  ordered  the  meeting  to  be  adjourned,  and 
the  books  and  records  of  the  College  to  be  brought, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  Overseers  to  be  specially 
summoned  to  attend  on  the  llth  of  April.  At  this 
meeting,  the  records  of  the  Overseers  state,  that "  after 
a  great  deal  of  debate  upon  the  subject  of  Mr.  Sever 
and  Mr.  Welsteed,  nothing  was  concluded  ;  "  and  that 
an  adjournment  took  place  to  the  2d  of  May  ensuing. 
On  this  day  a  meeting  was  held,  but  nothing  con- 
clusive was  done ;  and  it  was  adjourned  to  the  23d  of 
May. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  297 

About  this   time    the    three  years,  for   which   Mr.    CHAPTER 


xrv. 


Sever  had  been  elected  a  Tutor,  or  "  Fellow  of  the 
House,"  expired.  This  "occasioned  a  question  to  be 
moved,"  at  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  on  the  30th  of  ration  to  be 

no  longer 

April,  1722,  "  and  put,  whether  the  said  Mr.  Sever  is  Feiiowof 

'  '  r  the  House. 

to  be  deemed  as  a  Tutor,  or  Fellow  of  the  House,  or 
can  act  as  such  ?  Upon  which  the  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration declared  themselves  seriatim,  and  said,  that 
they  deem  the  said  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever  to  be  no  longer 
a  Tutor  or  Fellow  of  the  House,  nor  may  he  act  as 
such  unless  he  be  reflected  by  the  Corporation."  In 
consequence  of  this  resolve,  the  class  formerly  taught 
by  Sever  was  immediately  placed  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  another  fellow. 

This  decisive  step,  which  the  Corporation  probably 
deemed  necessary  for  the  vindication  of  their  authority, 
and  the  peace  and  order  of  the  seminary,  which  Sever 
had  shown  himself  well  inclined  to  disturb,  became 
immediately  a  new  element  of  trouble,  and  source  of 
discord  between  that :  board  and  the  Overseers.  At 
their  meeting  on  the  23d  of  May,  holden  according  to 
adjournment,  the  records  of  the  Overseers  state,  that, 
"  upon  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever's  representing  to  the  Over- 
seers a  matter  of  importance  referring  to  the  College, 
the  Overseers  deferred  the  consideration  of  it  until  it 
be  offered  in  writing  at  their  next  meeting."  On 
the  6th  of  June  ensuing,  Sever's  memorial  being  ac- 
cordingly read,  President  Leverett  moved,  that  the 
Corporation  might  be  furnished  with  a  copy,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  an  answer.  The  motion  was  sus- 
tained, and,  after  "  several  papers  were  read,  some  for, 
others  against,  the  design  of  the  memorial,  and  things 
were  largely  debated,"  the  Overseers  "  voted,  that  a 
committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  a  memorial  to  the 

VOL.  i.  38 


298  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   General    Court    respecting    the    enlargement   of    the 

XIV 

. ' number  of  the  Corporation,   by  adding  the    resident 

tutors  to  it."  Of  this  committee  Judge  Sewall  was 
appointed  chairman,  and  the  farther  consideration  of 
the  subject  was  postponed  to  the  meeting  of  the  Over- 
seers on  the  13th  of  June. 

At  this  meeting  both  of  the  contending  parties  ap- 
pear to  have  rallied  their  whole  strength.  Besides 
the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  the  Presi- 
dent, there  were  present  nineteen  civil  and  twelve 
clerical  members. 

Proceed-         The  committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  pre- 

ings  of  the 

Overseers  sented  the  memorial  they  had  prepared,  respecting 
the  enlargement  of  the  Corporation  by  adding  the 
resident  tutors,  which  was  read,  and  ordered  by  the 
Overseers  to  be  presented  to  the  General  Court  by 
the  committee  that  had  drafted  it.  The  meeting  was 
then  adjourned  to  the  afternoon,  when  "  Mr.  Sever's 
memorial  respecting  his  dismission  from  his  fellowship 
was  read,  as  also  a  reply  to  it  by  the  Corporation ; 
and,  after  large  debate  on  the  matter,"  it  was  voted, 
that  "  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever  still  continues  a  Fellow 
of  the  House,  notwithstanding  what  has  been  done 
with  reference  to  him  by  the  Corporation  upon  a 
by-law  not  approved  of  by  the  Overseers."  After 
these  proceedings  the  meeting  was  adjourned. 

The  Appendix  to  the  College  charter,  passed  in  1657, 
had  expressly  authorized  the  Corporation  "  to  make 
such  orders  and  by-laws,  for  the  better  ordering  and 
carrying  on  of  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall 
see  cause,  without  dependence  upon  the  consent  of  the 
Overseers,  foregoing."  And  although,  by  the  same 
act,  orders  and  by-laws  passed  by  the  Corporation 
were  alterable  by  the  Overseers  at  their  discretion  ; 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  299 

yet,  until  they  were  altered,  they  were  of  consequence   CHAPTER 
valid  and  obligatory. 

The  by-law,  referred  to  by  the  Overseers  as  not  ap- 
proved by  them,  had  been  passed  by  the  Corporation 
on  the  9th  of  April,  1716,  and  was  in  these  words; 
"  No  tutor,  or  Fellow  of  the  House,  now  or  henceforth 
to  be  chosen,  shall  hold  a  fellowship,  with  salary,  for 
more  than  three  years,  except  continued  by  a  new  elec- 
tion."* It  had  not,  indeed,  been  formally  presented  to 
the  Overseers  for  their  approbation;  but  after  that  by- 
law had  passed  the  Corporation,  and  on  the  same  day, 
Nicholas  Sever  was  chosen  by  that  board,  and  on  the  1716. 
16th  of  April  was  approved  by  the  Overseers  as  Fellow 
of  the  House,  and  when  those  three  years  had  expired, 
he,  being  rechosen  by  the  Corporation,  and  presented  to 
the  Overseers  on  the  23d  of  June,  1720,  was  approved 
by  them  as  "  rechosen  Fellow  of  the  House  for  three 
years,"  and  on  the  same  day  William  Welsteed  was 
approved  also  by  the  Overseers  as  "  chosen  Fellow  of 
the  House  for  three  years."  f  Whatever  course  there- 
fore the  Overseers  might  choose  to  pursue  relative  to 
the  alteration  of  this  by-law,  as  it  respected  Sever 
and  Welsteed  it  was  valid  and  unobjectionable.  The 
Overseers  could  not  aver  that  they  had  not  approved 
of  this  limitation  of  their  term  of  office,  without  con- 
tradicting their  own  records.  The  declaration  of  the 
Overseers,  that  Sever  "  was  yet  a  Fellow  of  the 
House,"  notwithstanding  the  term  for  which  he  had 
been  elected  with  their  approbation  had  expired,  was 
of  consequence  a  gratuitous  assumption  of  power, 
strongly  indicative  of  the  violence  of  party  spirit  in 
the  board. 

*  See  above,  p.  281.  t  Ibid.,  p.  283. 


300  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        On  the  30th  of  July,  1722,  the  proceedings  of  the 
! Overseers  came  under  the  consideration  of  the  Cor- 
poration.    Their  vote  on   this  occasion,  from  its  im- 
portance,  deserves  also  to  be  stated  at  large. 

"  Whereas  the  Corporation,  at  a  meeting,  April 
30th,  last  past,  gave  their  sense  concerning  Mr.  Nicho- 
las Sever,  who  was  twice  chosen  a  tutor,  or  Fellow 
of  the  House,  for  three  years,  and  the  last  time  con- 
firmed as  such  by  the  Overseers,  which  last  three 
years  ended  on  the  28th  of  April  this  present  year ; 
that  the  said  Mr.  Sever  no  longer  continued  a  tutor, 
nor  could  act  as  such  unless  reflected  by  the  Corpo- 
ration, which  sense  or  apprehension  the  Corporation 
are  more  confirmed  in,  by  an  Appendix  made  to  the 
College  charter  of  1650,  by  the  General  Court,  on 
October  14th,  1657 ;  and  whereas  at  an  Overseers' 
meeting,  June  13th,  1722,  they  signified  by  vote,  that 
the  said  Mr.  Sever  still  continues  a  fellow,  notwith- 
standing what  has  been  done  with  reference  to  him 
by  the  Corporation ;  we  agree  as  follows,  that,  saving 
the  proper  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Corporation,  and 
to  prevent  further  debates  and  contentions  (which  we 
look  on  as  threatening  to  the  welfare  of  the  College), 
sever  rein-  that  the  said  Mr.  Sever  again  act  as  a  tutor,  or  Fellow 

stated  by 

theCorpo-   Of  tne   House,  and  that  he  take  care  of  the  classes 

ration. 

formerly  under  his  tuition." 

The  Corporation  then,  "  in  consideration  of  the 
President's  indisposition,"  desired  Mr.  Wadsworth  to 
present  the  above  votes  to  the  Overseers,  and  to  revive 
the  presentation,  that  had  been  made  of  Mr.  Robie 
as  an  elected  "  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,"  in  that 
board.  In  these  proceedings  the  firm,  faithful,  and 
conciliatory  spirit  of  the  Corporation  are  strikingly 
manifested. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  301 


A  memorial,  praying  for  an  enlargement  of  the  Cor-  CHAPTER 
poration,  was  presented  to  the  General  Court  on  the  -  '.  — 
13th  of  June,  1722,  being  the  same  day  it  was  voted 
by  the  Overseers.  That  board  gave  no  official  notice 
of  their  design  to  the  Corporation,  whose  records  afford 
no  evidence  of  their  having  been  consulted  on  this 
memorial.  It  was  received  and  entertained  by  the 
General  Court  with  a  like  indifference  to  their  in- 
terests and  disregard  to  their  relation  to  the  sub- 
ject. The  only  reasons  given  in  this  memorial,  for 
the  alteration  it  proposed,  were,  that  the  number 
of  students,  and  the  business  of  the  College,  had 
greatly  increased,  which  rendered  it  expedient,  in 
the  apprehension  of  the  Overseers,  that  the  Corpo- 
ration .should  be  enlarged.  And  their  prayer  was,  Memorial 

_.  .      _,  .  ,  .  of  the  Over- 

that  the   General   Court  would  make   a  "convenient  seers  to  the 


addition  to  the  Corporation,  and  therein  to  have  re-  ture,  to  en- 

large the 

gard  to  the  resident  fellows,  or  tutors,  that  they  may 
be  of  that  number."  This  memorial  was  referred  to 
a  joint  committee  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature, 
composed  of  five  members  of  the  Council  and  five 
of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  course  of  these  proceedings, 
that  the  proposition  for  an  enlargement  of  the  Cor- 
poration was  the  result  of  a  compromise  in  the  board 
of  Overseers.  To  the  project  of  those  who  supported 
or  had  instigated  Sever  and  Welsteed's  memorial  it 
was  not  conformable,  as  it  would  only  introduce  the 
resident  tutors  into  the  Corporation,  but  would  not 
remove  the  obnoxious  members.  There  was  no  ground 
for  the  pretence,  that  for  all  the  objects  within  the 
powers  of  the  Corporation,  seven  were  not  an  adequate 
and,  in  fact,  a  much  more  efficient  board  than  a  larger 
number.  The  real  project  of  the  malecontents  among 


302  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   the  Overseers  was  well  understood  by  the  committee 

XIV 

-  to  whom  their  memorial  was  referred,  live  of  them 
being  members  of  that  board,  and  of  these  some  were 
the  most  decided  opponents  of  the  Corporation.  They 
accordingly  voted,  that  an  enlargement  of  the  number 
of  the  Corporation  was  inexpedient,  and  adopted 
resolutions,  which,  if  carried  into  effect,  would  sweep 
all  the  non-resident,  and  consequently  all  the  obnox- 
ious,  members  from  the  board  of  Corporation.  In 
conformity  with  these  views,  on  the  28th  of  June, 


1722,  they  reported,  that,  having  taken  the  subject  into 
consideration,  and  perused  the  charter,  the  present 
constitution  of  the  College,  and  the  memorial,  they 
"  came  to  the  following  resolutions,  which,  being  put 
in  practice,  would  answer  the  end  of  the  memorial, 
and  be  more  beneficial  to  that  society  than  enlarging 
the  number  of  the  Corporation." 

"  First,  that  it  was  the  intent  of  the  said  College 
charter,  that  the  tutors  of  the  said  College,  or  such  as 
have  the  instruction  and  government  of  the  students 
there,  should  be  Fellows  and  Members  of  the  Corpo- 
ration of  said  College,  provided  they  exceed  not  five 
in  number. 

"  Secondly,  that  none  of  said  Fellows  be  Overseers. 

"  Thirdly,  that  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the 
said  College,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  are  not  war- 
ranted to  fix  or  establish  any  salary  or  allowance  for 
their  service,  without  the  approbation  and  consent 
of  the  Overseers."* 

This  report  was  accepted  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  concurred  in  by  the  Council. 

Governor  Shute,  well  aware  that  this  measure  did 

*  See  Records  of  the  General  Court. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  303 

not  originate    in  just    views  of   the    interest  of  the   CHAPTER 
College,  and  that  the  avowed  were  not  the  real  mo-  — — - — 
tives,    adopted    a   course    of  policy   which    gave    an 
instantaneous    developement    to    the   whole    project. 
Instead  of  giving  the  resolutions  his  official  negative,  Go 
on  the  2d  of  July  he  returned  them  signed,  with  this 

i.    .          •  _  ditionally. 

conditional  approval.  "  1  consent  to  these  votes,  pro- 
vided the  Rev.  Mr.  Benjamin  Wadsworth,  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Benjamin  Colman,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ap- 
pleton  are  not  removed  by  said  orders,  but  still  remain 
Fellows  of  the  Corporation."  By  the  tenor  of  the 
Governor's  concurrence,  the  concealed  design  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  as  if  touched  by  the  spear 
of  Ithuriel, 

"  returned 

Of  force   to   its  own  likeness,     .... 
Discovered  and  surprised ! " 

Although  nothing  could  have  been  more  easy  than 
a  temporary  arrangement,  which  would  have  complied 
with  the  conditions  proposed  by  the  Governor,  had 
the  motive  really  been  the  permanent  interest  of  the 
institution,  the  House  of  Representatives  lost  their 
prudence  in  their  passion,  and  their  project  with  their 
temper.  They  avowed,  without  qualification,  their 
design,  and  demanded  of  the  Governor  an  uncondi- 
tional approval. 

On  the  5th  of  July,   1722,   they  voted,  "  That  a  Remon- 

TT.       _,  ,         _,  stranceof 

message  be  sent  up  to  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  House 
to  acquaint  him,  that,  whereas  he  has  been  pleased  to 
make  a  proviso  in  his  consenting  to  the  votes,  passed 
by  both  Houses,  relating  to  Harvard  College,  which 
has  a  tendency  entirely  to  defeat  the  design  and  pur- 
pose of  those  votes,  therefore  to  desire  His  Excellency 
to  pass  absolutely  thereupon,  according  to  the  constant 


304  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   usage  and  practice  ever  since  the  present  happy  con- 
- —  stitution." 

An  avowal  of  this  kind  had  the  effect  it  was 
naturally  calculated  to  produce.  The  Governor  be- 
came more  fixed  in  his  purpose,  and  returned  at 
once  by  his  secretary  the  following  decided  and  well- 
considered  reply. 

Reply  of  »  Gentlemen,  I  received  your  message  relating  to 
shutc.  the  affairs  of  the  College ;  and,  although  I  am  not 
obliged  to  give  my  reasons  for  my  manner  of  signing, 
or  my  refusing  to  sign,  any  vote,  yet  I  think  it  proper 
so  to  do  upon  this  occasion ;  and  therefore  I  do  now 
inform  you,  that  the  limitations,  with  which  I  signed 
the  resolve,  were  agreeable  to  the  explanations  made 
to  me  by  the  Council  at  the  time  of  my  signing,  and 
also  agreeable  to  the  intention  of  the  Overseers,  in 
their  address  to  the  General  Court ;  wherefore  I 
cannot  consent  to  these  votes  upon  any  other  terms 
than  what  I  have  already  done,  until  I  have  appointed 
an  Overseers'  meeting  for  their  further  opinion  in 
that  matter." 

Governor  Shute  had  unquestionably  ascertained,  that 
an  enlargement  of  the  Corporation  was  not  the  real 
wish  of  either  of  the  parties  which  divided  the  board 
of  Overseers,  but  was  the  result  of  a  compromise 
between  them  founded  upon  the  basis,  that  the  resi- 
dent fellows  should  be  admitted  and  the  non-resi- 
dent not  removed  from  the  board.  At  that  period, 
the  strength  of  the  stricter  sect  of  the  Calvinists 
was  concentrated  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Although  church  members  were  not,  as  under  the  old 
charter,  exclusively  freemen  of  the  Province,  yet  from 
the  impulse  and  direction,  which  that  charter,  by  its 
long  continuance,  had  given  to  the  religious  sentiments 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  305 

of  the  people,  the  influence  of  church  members  retained   CHAPTER 

xiv 
a  decided  ascendency.     Belief  in  the   predominating  ! — 

religious  opinions  continued  to  be  an  essential  requi- 
site to  political  advancement,  and  the  influential  men 
in  each  town  represented  the  prevalent  faith  of 
the  church  or  churches,  of  which  it  was  composed. 
The  House  of  Representatives,  therefore,  were  re- 
solved not  to  lose,  by  any  compromise,  the  oppor- 
tunity they  now  possessed  of  changing  the  influences 
then  ascendant  in  the  Corporation.  They,  therefore,  Proceed- 
immediately  responded  to  the  message  of  the  Governor  House  of 

•  T         i        TT  T-»  Represent- 

in  the  following  terms ;  "  In  the  House  of  Kepresenta-  atives. 

tives,  voted,  that  the  explanations  made  by  the  Coun- 
cil to  His  Excellency,  seem  inconsistent  with  their 
own  vote  upon  the  resolves ;  and  therefore  this  House 
insists  upon  their  desire,  that  His  Excellency  would 
pass  upon  it  absolutely,  without  any  proviso  or  limi- 
tation." 

No  notice  appears  to  have  been  taken  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  this  vote ;  and  the  subject  was  not  again 
called  up  for  consideration  in  that  session. 

During  the  ensuing  recess  of  the  legislature  the 
Overseers  continued  to  thwart  the  measures  of  the 
Corporation,  and  to  indicate  towards  that  board  a  spirit 
of  determined  hostility.  The  health  of  President 
Leverett  became  at  this  time  precarious.  In  the  in- 
struction of  the  undergraduates  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  take  a  part,  but  was  now  compelled  to 
allow  the  whole  of  this  labor  to  devolve  on  the 
tutors.  The  Corporation,  in  this  exigency,  deeming 
a  fifth  tutor  necessary,  elected  William  Cook  to  that 
office.  When  this  choice  was  presented  to  the  Over- 
seers for  approval,  they  at  once  negatived  his  election, 

VOL.  i.  39 


306  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   and  voted,  that  "  four  tutors  were  sufficient  at  present 

XIV 

! for  the  instruction  of  the    scholars."     The  Corpora- 

Aug.  i4.  tion  made  a  deliberate  declaration,  that  a  greater 
number  of  tutors  was  necessary  for  the  inspection  and 

Sept.  s.  instruction  of  the  students,  and  passed  a  vote,  request- 
ing a  conference  on  the  subject  with  the  Overseers. 
To  this  request  it  does  not  appear  that  this  board 
ever  acceded.  It  is  certain,  that  Cook  was  never 
approved  by  them  as  a  tutor,  nor  did  he  ever  officiate 
in  that  capacity. 

Aug.  14.  About  this  time  the  nomination  of  Robie  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Corporation  came  under  the  consideration 
of  the  board  of  Overseers.  They  passed  a  vote  in 
the  affirmative,  annexing  this  proviso,  "  during  his 
residence  as  a  tutor  at  the  College ;  "  a  limitation 
wholly  unauthorized  by  the  College  charter. 

Aug.  so.  The  Overseers  next  proceeded  to  order,  that  the 
act  of  the  Corporation  for  the  choice  "  of  tutors  every 
three  years  should  be  laid  before  them  for  their  con- 

Nov.21.  sideration."  This  was  accordingly  done  at  the  next 
meeting  by  the  Corporation,  and  the  act  received  a 
decided  negative  from  the  Overseers. 

House  of          The   House  of  Representatives,  in  a  like  spirit  of 
aUveTre-      animosity,  passed,  on  the  22d  of  November,   1722,  a 

new  their  .....  ~  ,'     ,     ' 

attack  on      resolution   intimating,   that  the    Corporation    had  not 

the  Corpo-  r 

ration.  kept  strictly  within  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  charter 
of  the  College  ;  and,  after  expressing  their  concern 
thereat,  recommended  "  a  greater  caution,  lest  they 
endanger  the  early  privileges  of  the  institution." 

This  resolution  drew  forth  from  the  'Corporation  a 
formal  memorial  on  the  10th  of  December,  1722,  to 
the  Governor  and  legislature,  in  which  they  aver, 
that  they  are  not  sensible  of  having  done  any  acts  not 
warranted  by  their  charter,  and  praying,  "  that  they 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  307 

may  be  admitted  to  a  hearing  in  the  premises,  the  Cor-   CHAPTER 


XIV. 


poration  not  having  as  jet  been  heard  thereupon." 

This  memorial  was  read  on  the    12th  of  Decem-  tion  re- 
quest a 

ber    in    the   House  of   Representatives,    who    imme-  Baring. 
diately   voted,    "  that   it    be   dismissed,    for   that  the 
prayer  of  the  memorial  is  altogether  groundless,  and  Their  pe- 

,..,.,..  ji.  i     •         i  ft          tition  is 

no  ways  to  be  justified ;  "  *  and,  in  the  course  or  that  dismissed. 
session,   they   took  up  the  resolves,  which  had  been     1723. 
passed  at  the  previous  session,  and  which  had  been 
lost   in   consequence   of    the    conditional   consent   of 
Governor  Shute  ;    and,   after  recapitulating  those    re- 
solves, in  their  very  terms,  they  passed  an  additional 
resolve,  "  that  the  same   be  and  hereby  are  revived 
and  declared  to  be  the  rule  for  the  future  proceedings 
of  Harvard  College."! 

In  this  resolve  a  majority  of  the  Council  refused 
to  cooperate  ;  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  being 
thus  defeated  in  their  project,  made  no  farther  attempt 
to  renew  the  controversy  during  that  session.  This 
attack  on  the  Corporation  was  probably  encouraged 
by  the  absence  of  Governor  Shute,  who  had  sailed 
for  England  on  the  1st  of  January,  1723.  From 
Lieutenant-Governor  Dummer  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives probably  expected  greater  complacency  to- 
wards their  policy,  or  less  ability  to  resist  it.  But 
their  design  had  been  anticipated  by  Governor  Shute, 
who  had  a  great  personal  respect  for  Colman,  Wads- 
worth,  and  Appleton;  and,  in  1723,  when  in  London, 
he  assured  Mr.  Hollis,  that,  if  the  vote  to  remove  the 
three  non-resident  members  succeeded  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  it  should  not  receive  the  concur- 
rence of  the  executive  authority.! 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LV.     t  See  Records  of  the  General  Court. 
if:  See  Appendix,  No.  LVI. 


308  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        The  Overseers  continued  to  seize  every  opportunity 

'      to  excite  and  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  opposition  to  the 

Corporation,  and  their  proceedings  render  the  conclu- 

Attempts     sion  unavoidable,  that  a  majority  had  determined,  that, 

to  induce  . 

members     if  they  could  not  remove   the  obnoxious  members  of 

of  the  Cor-  J 

poration  to   that  board  from  their  seats  by  the  arm  of  power,  they 

resign. 

would  compel    them    to   resign    by  the  treatment  to 
which  they  subjected  them. 

In  conformity  with  this  policy,  one  of  the  Dudleys 
informed  the  House  of  Representatives,  that  "  Mr. 
Colman  and  Mr.  Wadsworth  would  resign  their  places, 
and  then  the  way  will  be  cleared."  His  wishes  were 
the  parents  of  that  prophecy.  It  indeed  appears  from 
Hollis's  letters,  that,  in  October,  1722,  Colman  had 
thought  of  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Corporation,  which 
probably  had  been  communicated  to  Dudley,  who 
hoped,  by  this  public  annunciation,,  to  induce  the  act. 
But  it  had  a  contrary  effect ;  for,  no  sooner  had  Lev- 
erett  notice  of  Dudley's  speech,  than  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Colman,  dated  November  26th,  1722,* 
expressing  "  his  hope  of  better  things  "  from  him  and 
Mr.  Wadsworth;  and  intimating  that  his  own  situation 
would  be  much  more  difficult  should  they  withdraw. 
The  violent  spirit  which  actuated  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives is  indicated  by  this  letter,  in  which  Leverett 
states,  that  he  is  informed,  that  the  House  intend  "  to 
refuse  the  Governor's  allowance,  unless  he  comt  into 
their  scheme,  without  reserve,  of  alterations  in  the 
Corporation."  He  adds ;  "  His  Excellency  has  told 
me,  that  he  is  so  well  satisfied,  that  the  project  will 
be  fatal  to  the  College,  that  he  will  never  come  into 
it,  let  what  will  come." 


*  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.,  p.  119. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  309 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe,  that  any  serious  inten-   CHAPTER 

XIV 

tion  to  resign  ever  existed  in  the  minds  of  those  firm  - 

-  \rit~*  Conduct  of 

and  conscientious  men,  whose  removal  from  the  Corpo-  the  corpo- 
ration was  the  object  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  occa- 
The  true  arid  elevated  spirit  by  which  they  were 
actuated  is  feelingly  expressed  in  the  close  of  that 
memorial,  which  the  Corporation  addressed  to  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  Council  on  the  23d  of  Au- 
gust, 1723.*  "  We  thank  your  honors  for  this  opportu- 
nity granted  us  faithfully  to  discharge  our  consciences, 
in  what  we  really  think  would  be  for  the  good  of  the 
College  ;  making  this  representation  not  for  any  by- 
ends  or  self-interest.  Those  of  us,  whose  ejectment  is 
so  earnestly  sought  for,  neither  seek  nor  find  any  re- 
ward for  all  that  time  we  spend  or  pains  we  take,  as 
members  of  the  Corporation.  If  we  have  served  the 
College  in  any  kind  and  degree,  we  thank  God  for  the 
time  and  assistance.  We  heartily  wish  and  pray  for 
its  welfare,  and  for  the  flourishing  of  religion  and 
good  literature  in  it,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good 
of  this  people,  even  to  the  latest  posterity  ;  if  it  may  be 
the  divine  pleasure  so  to  order  it.  We  wish  its  enemies 
may  not  find  nor  take  any  occasion  against  it  by  its 
late  unhappy  discontents  and  differences ;  the  fault 
whereof  lies  at  their  door,  who  have  contrived  and 
fomented  them.  A  house  or  city  divided  against 
itself,  —  what  is  likely  to  come  of  it  ?  God  avert  the 
omen  !  " 

In  February,  1722-3,  Thomas  Robie,  the  senior  Robie  re- 
resident  tutor  and  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,  resigned  s^aTinthe 
both  those  offices.     Robie  had  joined  Sever  and  Wei-  tiom°r< 
steed  in  none  of  their  cabals,  and  had  fulfilled  all  his 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LV1I. 


310  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   duties,   to  the   entire  acceptance  of  the   Corporation. 

XIV 

The  President  accordingly  returned  him  thanks  for  his 
good  services  both  as  a  tutor  and  a  Fellow  of  the 
Corporation,  and  made  the  following  entry  in  his 
Diary.  "  It  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  Mr.  Robie 
was  no  small  honor  to  Harvard  College,  by  his  mathe- 
matical performances,  and  by  his  correspondence  there- 
upon with  Mr.  Durham  and  other  learned  persons  in 

those  studies  abroad."  * 

• 

The  vacancy  occasioned  by  Robie's  resignation  was 
immediately  filled  by  the  election  of  Nathan  Prince,  to 
be  a  tutor  for  three  years.  As  this  limitation  might 
be  considered  by  the  Overseers  a  defiance  of  their 
authority,  the  Corporation  passed  a  vote,  declaring  it 
was  not  done  "  in  contradiction  to  the  Overseers,  nor 
in  any  disparagement  of  the  person  elected,  but  as 
what,  upon  mature  deliberation,  they  esteem  most  for 
the  good  of  the  College.  And,  if  the  election  shall 
not  be  acceptable  to  the  Overseers,  they  direct  that 
it  should  then  be  presented  as  if  it  were  made  with- 
out limitation  of  time." 

When  Mr.  Prince  was  presented  to  the  board  of 
Overseers,  as  a  tutor  for  three  years,  they  negatived 
his  election.  Being  then  presented  to  them  as  tutor, 
without  limitation  of  time,  they  passed  a  vote  in 
the  affirmative? 
Third  me-  Sever  and  Welsteed,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1723, 

mortal  of  ,  ,  .    ,  i    •    •  p       i     • 

sever  and    presented    another    memorial,    complaining   of    their 

Welsteed.      L  f  r.      .    ® 

salaries.  Although  an  interference  of  the  Overseers 
with  the  Corporation  in  relation  to  salaries  had  been  al- 
together unprecedented  since  the  revival  of  the  charter, 
the  Overseers  made  no  scruple  on  the  subject,  but 

*  Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  252, 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  311 

declared   the  salaries  of   both  insufficient,  and    "  ad-   CHAPTEK 

XIV 

vised  the  Corporation  to  make  further  and  suitable  - 
addition  to  the  yearly  salaries  of  both."  This  vote 
was  passed  without  calling  upon  the  Corporation  for 
any  explanation  on  the  subject.  It  does  not  appear, 
however,  that  the  Corporation  took  any  notice  of 
this  interference. 

On  the  4th  of  June,   1723,  Professor  Wigglesworth  professor 
was  unanimously  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation.  wJSh 
Every  consideration  of  age,  permanent  relation  to  the  Feiiow  of 

/-.    ii  11-  !•/•         •  •       r  f     i  •       theCorpo- 

College,  and  literary  qualification,  were  in  favor  of  this  ration. 
selection  ;  but  to  Sever  and  Welsteed  it  was  a  sig- 
nal, that  their  hopes  of  admission  to  that  board  were 
again  about  to  be  foiled.  Their  friends  rallied  in  their 
favor ;  but,  to  defeat  this  nomination,  they  had  a 
peculiar  difficulty  to  encounter.  Mr.  Hollis,  whose 
bounties  were  at  this  time  flowing,  in  full  tide,  to- 
wards the  College,  had  expressed  in  his  letters  a 
strong  desire,  that  his  professor  should  be  admitted  to 
a  seat  in  the  Corporation.  The  fear  of  offending  this 
benefactor  was  not  strong  enough,  however,  to  arrest 
the  determined  spirit  of  party  in  its  course.  The  Negatived 
Overseers  negatived  the  election  of  Mr.  Wigglesworth,  overseers. 
and  appointed  a  committee  "  to  prepare  a  letter,  set- 
ting forth  to  Mr.  Hollis  the  grounds  upon  which  the 
Overseers  have  disapproved  of  the  choice  of  Mr. 
Wigglesworth  as  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation." 

During  the  session  of  the  General  Court  in  June, 
1723,  the  theses  of  the  Bachelors  to  be  graduated 
at  the  Commencement  in  July  were  published  accord- 
ing to  custom ;  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  for 
some  reason  not  to  be  ascertained  from  their  records, 
took  offence  "  at  the  dedication  of  them  as  not  prop- 
erly addressed,"  and  passed  a  formal  vote,  "  That  it 


312  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   is  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor, 

'—  who  is  now  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Province,  and 

the  head  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College,  to  have  the 

impression  of  these  theses  go  out  as  they  now  are  ;  and 

therefore  ordered,  that  the  printer,  Mr.  Bartholomew 

Green,  be,  and  is  hereby,  directed  not  to  deliver  any 

of  the  theses  till  they  shall  be  properly  addressed."  * 

The  coun-        The  Council  again  put  a  check  on  the  temper  of 

concur.       the  House,  and  non-concurred  the  order. 

House  of         In  the  August  ensuing  the  House  of  Representatives 

atmls  re-     took  up  for  the  third  time  their  former  resolves,  which 

resolve        had  been  lost  by  the  conditional  consent  of  Governor 

against  the 

corpora-      Shute,  and  sent  them  to  the  Council  for  concurrence. 

tion. 

This  was  done  without  any  notice  being  given  to  the 
Corporation,  notwithstanding  their  solicitation  to  be 
heard  at  the  preceding  session.  They  were,  however, 
not  deterred  by  the  chilling  repulse  their  former  re- 
1723.  quest  had  received.  On  the  9th  of  August  the  Corpo- 
ration again  met,  and  prepared  a  formal  address  to  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, declaring  it  to  be,  in  their  apprehension, 
their  bounden  duty,  although  their  former  application 
had  not  been  successful,  humbly  to  petition  for  a 
hearing,  before  further  proceedings  should  be  had  on 
the  subject  of  those  resolves.  The  address  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Council,  before  whom  the  resolves  of  the 
House  were  then  pending  for  concurrence.  The  hear- 
ing requested  by  the  Corporation  was  granted  by  the 
Council  on  the  23d  of  August,  1723,  and  the  result 
was  effectual  and  final,  f  The  Council  again  non- 
concurred  in  the  resolves  of  the  House,  and  they  were 
never  after  revived  in  that  or  any  succeeding  legis- 
lature. 

*  See  Records  of  the  General  Court.        f  See  Appendix,  No.  LVII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  313 

Thus  at  last  this  reiterated  and  violent  attempt  to   CHAPTER 

XIV 

change  the  charter  of  the  College  terminated  in  the — 

complete  triumph  of  the  Corporation. 

History  has  seldom  to  record  a  firmer  or  better  prin-  Tribute  to 

.    I,..,,.  ,  the  spirit 

cipled  spirit  of  resistance  to  attempted  encroachments  oftheCor- 

.    ,  T       i  i   •         i  •  •  poration. 

on  charter  rights,  than  that  displayed  in  this  exigency 
by  Colman,  Wadsworth,  and  Appleton.  The  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  placed  were  full  of  trial 
and  discouragement.  Party  spirit  had  no  path  to  its 
object,  but  by  making  them  its  victims ;  and  their  re- 
moval became,  therefore,  its  settled  policy,  at  first 
covertly,  at  last  openly.  They  as  well  knew,  that 
Sever  and  Welsteed's  attack  was  levelled  at  them  per- 
sonally on  the  day  their  memorial  was  offered,  as 
they  did  two  years  afterwards,  when  the  House  of 
Representatives  unequivocally  avowed  their  object. 
They  had  no  motives  to  maintain  the  struggle,  but  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  a  deep  conviction  that  this  attempt, 
if  successful,  would  be  fatal  to  the  interests  of  the 
College.  Their  places  in  the  Corporation  were  offices 
of  mere  labor  and  responsibility,  with  no  emolument. 
They  had  to  resist  a  numerous,  active,  prejudiced,  and 
powerful  class  of  individuals  in  the  Province,  occasion- 
ally able  to  command  the  superior  vote,  both  in  the 
board  of  Overseers  and  in  the  Council.  In  the  House 
of  Representatives  there  was  at  that  time  a  majority, 
actuated  by  as  overbearing  a  spirit  of  party,  as  at  any 
previous  period  had  existed  in  the  Province  ;  possess- 
ing a  predominating  popularity  ;  active  and  fearless, 
with  no  delicacy  as  to  its  means,  and  determined 
as  to  its  objects.  The  whole  administration  of  Shute 
was  tempestuous ;  and  the  affairs  of  the  College  were 
affected  by  the  passions  and  interests  which  embar- 
rassed the  Colonial  government. 
VOL.  i.  40 


314  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Increasing  Influence  of  the  Episcopal  Church. —  Alarm  of  the  Con- 
gregationalbts. — Relations  of  the  College  to  both.  —  Discontent  with 
the  general  State  of  the  College.  — Visiting  Committee  appointed  by 
the  Overseers. — Their  Report.  —  Its  Result.  —  Death  of  President 
Leverett.  —  Professor  Wigglesworth  approved  by  the  Overseers  as 
Fellow  of  the  Corporation. — Review  of  the  Administration  of 
Leverett. —  The  Deficiency  of  his  Salary  for  his  Support.  —  Ap- 
plication to  the  General  Court  for  the  Relief  of  his  Family.  —  Its 
Result. 

CHAPTER       IN  the   party  spirit  which  characterized   and   em- 

-  barrassed  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives 

theEpisco-  during   the    administration   of    Governor    Shute,   the 

pal  church. 

elements  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  policy  were  inti- 
mately combined.  Political  jealousy  and  theological 
zeal  reciprocally  stimulated  each  other.  The  fears  of 
the  politicians  were  excited  by  the  increasing  influence 
of  the  English  crown ;  those  of  the  clergy,  by  the 
proselyting  spirit  of  the  English  hierarchy.  Both 
divisions  of  the  Congregational  church  saw,  with  un- 
disguised anxiety,  Episcopacy  daily  gaining  strength 
and  gathering  converts,  by  the  aid  of  transatlantic 
funds  and  missionaries.  But  the  feelings  and  conduct 
of  the  parties  were  modified  by  their  respective  char- 
acters and  religious  opinions. 

Brattle,  Colman,  Pemberton,  Wadsworth,  and  Ap- 
pleton,  belonged  to  a  class  of  divines,  which  first 
appeared,  when  the  civil  power  the  clergy  had  wielded 
under  the  old  charter  was  beginning  to  be  dissolved 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  315 

by   the   influence    of  the    new   principles    introduced   CHAPTER 

by  that  of  William  and  Mary.     They  were  eminent 

ly  liberal  in  their  religious  views,  and,  although  not- 
friendly  to  the  influence  of  the  Church  of  England, 
they  regarded  the  introduction  of  Episcopacy  as  un- 
avoidable, considering  the  relation  of  the  Province  to 
the  parent  State.  Thomas  Brattle,  Treasurer  of  the 
College,  and  for  more  than  twenty  years  an  active 
member  of  the  Corporation,  made  no  concealment  of 
his  decided  preference  for  the  Episcopalian  forms  of 
worship. 

As  the  College  was,  in  that  day,  dependent  on  the  Relation  to 

favor  of  the  General  Court  for  the  support  of  its  Presi-  governors 

of  the  coi- 
dent,  it  was  the  policy  as  well  as  the  duty  of  its  gov-  lege. 

ernors  to  conciliate  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Pro- 
vince, and  as  far  as  possible  to  harmonize  with  a 
church,  which,  from  his  official  relations,  if  not  from 
principle,  he  was  compelled  to  patronize.  Colman, 
the  leading  member  of  the  Corporation,  was  highly 
esteemed  by  some  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  English 
hierarchy.  He  was  a  correspondent  of  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough,  who  was  disposed  to  consider  "  the 
catholic  spirit,"  for  which  the  College  was  distin- 
guished, as  attributable  to  his  influence ;  and  even 
expressed  a  wish  that  he  should  therefore  be  advanced 
to  the  President's  chair,  when  a  vacancy  occurred  by  % 

the   death  of  Leverett.  * 

The  policy  and  spirit,  thus  manifested  by  leading 
members  of  the  Corporation,  was  equally  offensive  to 
the  political  and  religious  zealots  of  that  period.  The 
one  considered  the  College  as  inclining  to  the  side 
of  prerogative ;  the  other,  as  verging  towards  here- 

«  See  Turell's  Life  of  Colraan,  p.  136. 


316  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  sy,  and  not  sufficiently  inimical  to  the  English  hier- 

XV 

! —  archy.     With    both  parties    it   became    an   object  of 

Its  effects  .  .  * 

on  the  severe  scrutiny  and  some  misrepresentation.  Its  moral 
of  the  and  religious  condition  was  canvassed  with  asperity, 
and  its  character  assailed  by  general  suggestions  of 
declension,  easily  made,  and  difficult  wholly  to  re- 
fute, but,  in  the  degree  insinuated,  utterly  devoid 
of  probability. 

Thus  Cooke,  the  leader  of  the  patriotic  party  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  being  in  England  in  the 
spring  of  1724,  is  found  representing  to  Mr.  Hollis 
the  very  bad  state  of  the  College,  and  attributing  it 
to  the  fact,  that  "  the  Corporation  was  not  composed 
of  resident  fellows,"  yet  at  the  same  time  acknowledg- 
ing, that  "  the  present  non-resident  fellows  were  as 
worthy  persons  as  the  country  afforded,  or  as  could 
be  chosen."*  As  if  three  or  four  tutors,  mostly  young 
men  just  out  of  College,  whose  connexion  with  the 
seminary  was  usually  short  and  precarious,  without 
experience,  and  having  110  external  influence,  were 
likely  to  manage  its  concerns  better  than  such  men 
as  Colman,  Wadsworth,  and  Appleton. 

overseers         On  the  18th  of  January,  1723,  the  House  of  Re- 
take meas-  » 

•ires  indie-  presentatives  revived  the  resolves  they  had  passed 
content.  at  |ne  previous  session,  on  the  memorial  of  Sever 
and  Welsteed,  and  which  Governor  Shute  had  nega- 
tived, and,  passing  them  a  second  time,  sent  them 
to  the  Council  for  their  concurrence.  This  body  re- 
ferred the  subject  to  the  ensuing  May  session  ;  and, 
in  the  month  of  August,  the  resolves  were  taken  up 
for  discussion.  While  the  project  of  removing  the 
obnoxious  members  of  the  Corporation  was  in  progress, 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LVIII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  317 

the  moment  was  thought    favorable  to   commence  in   CHAPTER 

"VV 

the    board  of  Overseers   measures  strongly  indicating  '. — 

discontent  with  the  state  of  the  College.  Accordingly, 
on  the  9th  of  August,  a  formal  vote  was  passed  by  the  1723. 
Overseers,  "  that  a  visitation  of  the  College  would 
very  much  serve  the  interests  of  religion  and  learning 
in  that  society,"  and  should  be  made  accordingly ; 
and  a  committee,  of  which  Judge  Sewall  was  chair- 
man, was  appointed  "  to  prepare  and  lay  before  the 
Overseers  at  their  next  meeting,  such  heads  or  arti- 
cles which  may  be  thought  proper  for  the  aforesaid 
visitation  of  the  Overseers  to  proceed  upon."  This 
committee  made  a  report,  which  on  the  30th  of  Sep- 
tember was  read,  and  the  several  articles  proposed 
were  voted  in  the  board  of  Overseers. 

These  articles  were  ten  in  number,  of  which  three  Heads  of 
had  reference  to  the  general  conduct  of  the  College ; 
and  seven,  exclusive  reference  to  its  religious  and 
moral  condition  ;  indicating  very  distinctly  the  points 
on  which  there  existed,  or  there  was  a  disposition  to 
create,  suspicions.  These  articles  of  inquiry  were ; 

1.  "  What  are  the  stated  exercises  enjoined  on  the 
students,  and  how  attended  by  them. 

2.  "  What   are   the   books   in   Divinity,  which  are 
most    used,    and   more    particularly   recommended  to 
the  students. 

3.  "  How  are   the    Saturday   exercises    performed, 
and  are  the  great  concerns  of  their  souls  duly  incul- 
cated on  the  youth. 

4.  "  What  is  the   state   of  the   College  as  to  the 
morals  of  the  youth. 

5.  "  Whether  the  Holy  Scriptures  be  daily  read  in 
the  Hall,  and  how  often  expounded. 

6.  "  Whether  the  tutors  and  students  do  duly  give 


318  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   their  attendance  on  the  public  prayers  and  readings 

XV 

! —  of  the    Holy   Scriptures   in   the    Hall,    morning    and 

evening. 

7.  "  Whether  many  of  the  students  are  not  allowed 
to  be  too  often  and  too  long  absent  from  the  College. 

8.  "  Whether    the    tutors   duly   visit   their    pupils' 
chambers  and  oblige  them  to  their  proper  hours. 

9.  "  How  the  Lord's  day  is  observed,  and  the  pub- 
lic duties  of  it  attended  by  that  society. 

10.  "  How  the  lectures  and  other  exercises  of  the 
Hollis  Professor  are  performed  and  attended  by  that 
society." 

Report  of         The  report  of  this  committee  of  visitation,   made 

the  com-  * 

mitteeof     on   the  9th  of  October,    1723,    breathes   a   spirit  of 

inquiry. 

subdued  discontent  with  the  College,  yet  its  sharpness 
is  sufficient  to  give  color  of  justification  for  antecedent 
apprehensions.  Did  we  not  know  the  violence  of  the 
times,  and  the  natural  tendency  of  party  spirit  to 
exaggerate,  we  should  be  led  to  lament  the  moral 
degeneracy  of  the  institution,  and  to  make  no  favor- 
able conclusions  concerning  its  management.  But  the 
scrutiny  had  been  commenced  when  there  were  vivid 
expectations  of  success  in  the  project  connected  with 
the  revival  of  the  resolves,  in  which  Sever  and  Wei- 
steed's  memorial  had  resulted.  The  report  was  made 
after  the  malecontents  with  the  Corporation  in  the 
board  of  Overseers  and  the  House  of  Representatives 
had  been  defeated  by  the  firmness  of  the  Council,  who 
admitted  the  Corporation  to  a  hearing  which  the 
House  had  denied,  and  afterwards  finally  non-con- 
curred in  the  resolves.  A  course  suited  to  the  actual 
state  of  things  was  adopted.  The  governors  of  the 
College  were  passed  over  without  censure ;  but  a 
minute  detail  was  given  of  crimes  and  offences,  suffi- 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  319 


XV. 


cient  to  justify  the  insinuations  which  had  been  made   CHAPTER 
concerning  the  moral  and  religious  declension  of  the 
institution. 

To  the  first  inquiry  the  committee  report,  "  That 
the  stated  exercises  in  the  College  are  generally  the 
same  which  they  have  formerly  been ;  and  that  there 
is  too  common  and  general  a  neglect  of  the  stated 
exercises  amongst  the  undergraduates,  and  that  the 
Masters'  disputations  and  Bachelors'  declamations,  en- 
joined by  the  laws  of  the  College,  have  been  a  long 
time  disused." 

As  to  the  second  inquiry,  "  That  there  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  any  great  recommendation  of 
books  in  Divinity  to  the  students,  but  that  they  have 
read  promiscuously,  according  to  their  inclinations, 
authors  of  different  denominations  in  religion  ;  and, 
by  some  information  given,  the  works  of  Tillotson, 
Sherlock,  Scott,  and  Lucas,  are  generally  most  used." 

As  to  the  third  inquiry,  "  That  the  Greek  Cate- 
chism is  recited  by  the  Freshmen  without  exposition. 
Wollebius'  and  Ames's  Systems  of  Divinity  by  the 
other  classes,  with  exposition  on  Saturdays ;  and  repe- 
titions of  the  sermons  of  the  foregoing  sabbath  are 
made  by  the  students  on  Saturday  evenings,  when  the 
President  is  present." 

As  to  the  fourth,  "  That,  although  there  is  a  con- 
siderable number  of  virtuous  and  studious  youth  in 
the  College,  yet  there  has  been  a  practice  of  several 
immoralities ;  particularly  stealing,  lying,  swearing, 
idleness,  picking  of  locks,  and  too  frequent  use  of 
strong  drink ;  which  immoralities,  it  is  feared,  still 
continue  in  the  College,  notwithstanding  the  faithful 
endeavours  of  the  rulers  of  the  House  to  suppress 
them." 


320  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        As  to  the  fifth,  "  That  the  Scriptures  are  read  in 
xv.  r 

the  Hall,  on   Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednesdays,  and 

Thursdays,  when  the  President  is  present,  and  once 
a  week  expounded  by  the  President." 

As  to  the  sixth,  "  That  the  tutors  and  graduates  do 
generally  give  their  attendance  on  the  prayers  in  the 
Hall,  though  not  on  the  readings  ;  and  that  the  under- 
graduates attend  both  prayers  and  readings ;  but  they 
attend  in  greater  numbers  at  prayers  when  there  are 
no  readings." 

As  to  the  seventh,  "  That  the  scholars  are,  many 
of  them,  too  long  absent  from  the  College ;  but  their 
long  absence  is  not  with  allowance." 

As  to  the  eighth,  "  That  the  tutors  do  duly  visit 
their  pupils'  chambers,  and  oblige  them  to  their 
proper  hours." 

As  to  the  ninth,  "  That  there  are  prayers,  and  a 
psalm  sung,  in  the  Hall  on  the  Lord's  day  mornings ; 
and  repetition  of  the  sermons  by  one  of  the  scholars  ; 
and  a  psalm  and  prayers  in  the  evening  ;  and  that  the 
scholars  do  generally  attend  the  public  worship ;  and 
that  the  scholars  too  generally  spend  too  much  of  the 
Saturday  evenings  in  one  another's  chambers ;  and 
that  the  Freshmen,  as  well  as  others,  are  seen,  in  great 
numbers,  going  into  town,  on  Sabbath  mornings,  to 
provide  breakfasts." 

As  to  the  tenth,  "  That  the  public  lectures  of  the 
Hollis  Professor  are  well  performed,  and  are  attended 
by  the  scholars ;  but  the  private  lectures  are  very  much 
neglected  by  the  scholars." 

No  direct  action  upon  this  report  appears  to  have 
been  had,  not  even  an  acceptance  of  it  by  the  Over- 
1723.  seers.  On  the  18th  of  the  ensuing  November,  in- 
deed, a  committee  was  appointed,  to  revise  the  laws 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  321 

of    the    College,    and    with    instructions    to   consider   CHAPTER 

xv 
"  what  farther  is  requisite   to  be  done,  beyond  what  - 

has  been  done,  in  pursuit  of  the  Overseers'  inquiry."  the  inquiry. 
It  does  not  appear  by  the  records  of  either  the  Cor- 
poration  or  the  Overseers,  that  this  committee   ever 
made  a  report. 

The  death  of  President  Leverett,  in  May,  1724, 
gave  an  entirely  new  direction  to  the  views  and  inter- 
ests of  parties.  The  Overseers  met  on  the  succeeding 
day,  and,  Professor  Wigglesworth  having  been  rechosen 
on  the  25th  of  December  a  Fellow  of  the  Corporation  1723. 
by  that  board,  the  Overseers  now  "  reconsidered  their 
reasons  for  their  former  non-acceptance  of  him,"  and 
concurred  in  his  election.  Yielding  either  to  the 
arguments  or  the  authority  of  the  Council  of  the  Pro- 
vince, the  House  of  Representatives  took  no  farther 
measures  on  the  claim  of  Sever  and  Welsteed,  which 
was  never  afterwards  renewed.  The  three  obnoxious 
members  of  the  Corporation  were  permitted  to  retain 
their  seats  unmolested,  and  the  vacant  chair  of  the 
President  concentrated  the  attention  of  all  parties. 

The  administration  of  President  Leverett  was  la- 
borious, difficult,  and  eventful.  By  the  very  force  of 
the  factions,  which  divided  the  politics  and  religion  of 
the  country,  the  prosperity  of  the  College  had  been 
advanced,  and  its  usefulness  extended.  Institutions 
amid  the  tumults  of  party  discord,  like  ships  amid  the 
strife  of  warring  elements,  are  often  urged  onward 
with  accelerated  force  by  the  tempest,  which  at  first 
retarded  their  progress,  and  even  threatened  their 
destruction.  Success  in  both  cases  depends  on  the 
firmness  and  skill  of  the  pilot. 

During  the  administrations  of  Governors  Dudley 
and  Shute,  the  affairs  of  the  Colony  were  subjected 

VOL.  i.  41 


;322  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   to    great    pecuniary    embarrassment.      The   wars   of 

Queen  Anne  had  created  a  considerable  public  debt. 

embarniM-    Taxes  were  heavy.     The  population  of  Massachusetts 

merits  of  .  .  .  n  •         i  /•  i  ¥ 

Massachu-    was  increasing;,  but  in  a  smaller  ratio  than  formerly.  Its 

setts. 

finances  were  depressed  in  consequence  of  the  practice 
of  issuing  paper  money  without  adequate  funds  for  re- 
demption. Yet  in  times  thus  unpropitious  the  Corpo- 
ration of  the  College,  under  the  auspices  of  Leverett, 
obtained  from  the  legislature  of  the  Province  a  succes- 
sion of  efficient  grants  unparalleled  in  the  previous  his- 
tory of  the  institution.  All  their  donations  to  it  in  land 
had  hitherto  failed,  either  from  want  of  title  or  of  means 
to  enforce  it.  With  the  exception  of  the  profits  of  the 
ferry  over  Charles  River,  the  patronage  of  the  Province 
had  been  limited  to  an  annual  grant  for  the  support  of 
the  President,  and  this  had  been  the  only  direct  pecu- 
niary aid  the  College  had  received  from  the  treasury. 
But  in  November,  1717,  on  the  memorial  of  the  Corpo- 
ration, stating  that  "  a  considerable  number  of  students 
were  obliged  to  take  lodgings  in  the  town  of  Cambridge 
for  want  of  accommodations  in  the  College,  and  pray- 
ing the  assistance  of  the  General  Court  for  erecting 
a  suitable  building,"  the  legislature  took  the  subject 
General  into  consideration,  and  in  May,  1718,  ordered  an  edi- 

Court  erect 

Massachu.   fice  three  stories  high,  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  of  the 

setts  Hall.  * 

same  breadth  with  Harvard  Hall,  to  be  erected  at  the 
expense  of  the  Province.  In  1719  this  building  was 
extended  in  length  to  one  hundred  feet,  and  was 
completed  in  1720,  at  a  cost  of  about  three  thousand 
five  hundred  pounds,  currency  of  the  Province.  This 
edifice  received  the  name  of  Massachusetts  Hall,  and 
continues  in  good  preservation  to  this  day.  For  the 
liberality  of  the  General  Court  on  this  occasion,  the 
College  was  chiefly  indebted  to  the  influence  of  Gov- 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  323 

ernor  Shute,  who  made  two  special  recommendations   CHAPTER 

xv. 
on  the  subject  in  public  messages.     Notwithstanding  - 

the  embarrassed  state  of  their  finances,  it  was  not 
easy  for  the  General  Court  to  resist  the  zeal  and 
urgency  of  the  chief  magistrate,  in  aid  of  an  insti- 
tution, which  had  been  the  object  of  the  favor  of  the 
people  of  the  Province  from  its  first  settlement,  and 
which  was  evidently  in  extreme  want  of  the  accom- 
modation solicited.  The  disposition  manifested  about 
this  period,  by  wealthy  individuals  among  the  Dis- 
senters in  Great  Britain,  to  patronize  and  endow  the 
College,  also  tended  to  excite  the  legislature  to  aid 
its  advancement.  In  concurring  with  the  recom- 
mendations of  Governor  Shute,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives expressed  their  thanks  for  "  his  care  to 
promote  good  literature,  without  which  religion  will 
not  be  upheld  among  us."  * 

The  death  of  President  Leverett  was  sudden,  un-  Death  of 
expected,  and  deeply  lamented.  On  the  morning  Leverett. 
of  the  3d  of  May,  1724,  he  was  found  dead  in  his 
bed,  to  which  he  had  retired  the  night  before,  suffering 
under  what  was  considered  a  slight  indisposition.  The 
funeral  sermons  delivered  on  the  occasion,  by  his 
friends  Colman,  Wadsworth,  and  Appleton,  are  replete 
with  sorrow  and  eulogy.  Chief  Justice  Sewall  also, 
in  an  address  to  the  Grand  Jury,  spoke  of  President 
Leverett,  "  as  one,  who  had  been  an  ornament  to  the 
Bench  of  Justice  and  Court  of  Probate,  full  of  sweet- 
ness and  candor,  displayed  in  the  government  of  the 
College,  tempered  by  convenient  severity." 

The  abilities  of  Leverett  seem  to  have  been  of  a 
superior  order,  which  the  events  of  his  life  had  en- 

*  See  Records  of  the  General  Court,  14th  of  February,  1718. 


324  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   abled  him  to  improve  and  refine  by  an  extensive  inter- 
course with   books  and  mankind.     His  talents  were 


Character 

ofpresi-      eminently  practical.     He  knew  better  than  most  men 

dent  Lev- 

erett.  what  course  to  shape  in  difficult  times,  and  how 
political  and  religious  factions  were  to  be  managed  or 
controlled.  To  these  characteristics  the  College  owed 
much  of  the  prosperity  it  enjoyed  at  that  period ;  and 
these  conferred  the  reputation  for  success,  which  has 
ever  since  rested  upon  his  administration.  In  all  his 
official  relations,  his  industry,  vigor,  arid  fidelity  were 
conspicuous  and  exemplary.  He  was  a  man  more 
actuated  by  a  sense  of  duty  than  by  desire  of  fame, 
and  no  important  monuments  of  his  literary  or  scien- 
tific attainments  remain,  except  such  as  are  identified 
with  the  prosperity  of  the  College  while  under  his  care. 

The  religion  of  President  Leverett  was  enlight- 
ened and  catholic.  In  a  country,  and  at  a  period 
of  society,  when  the  sectarian  spirit  was  strenuously 
contending  for  power  and  supremacy,  he  maintained 
his  integrity,  and  preserved  the  College  in  that  in- 
dependence of  religious  sects,  which  was  established 
by  the  terms  of  its  first  charter.  To  his  firmness,  and 
that  of  his  associates,  under  circumstances  of  great 
trial,  and  in  opposition  to  an  almost  overwhelming 
power,  the  institution  is,  probably,  in  a  great  measure 
indebted  for  its  religious  freedom  at  this  day. 

While  he  was  able  to  maintain  the  College  in  the 

.      ,  ...  .         . 

independence  of  its  early  constitution,  he  was  com- 
pelled himself  to  become  the  victim  of  poverty  and 
disappointment;  a  fate  he  might  probably  have  avoid- 
ed, had  he  been  more  subservient  to  the  times,  and 
less  conscientiously  scrupulous.  For  his  own  support 
and  that  of  his  family,  he  was  chiefly  dependent  on 
grants  from  the  General  Court.  These  had  not  been 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  325 

enlarged  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  the  expense   CHAPTER 

of  living,  and  the  depreciation  of  money  consequent  '. — 

on  a  paper  currency.  As  early  as  November,  1711, 
he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  General  Court,  in  which 
he  stated  that  he  had  been  "  invited  to  the  cares  and 
services  of  the  office  of  President  of  the  College, 
by  the  votes  of  that  Court,  and  with  a  demand  of 
devoting  himself  entirely  to  those  cares  and  services," 
which  he  had  done  without  any  diversion  ;  that  the  in- 
sufficiency of  the  salary  was  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment universally  known  and  acknowledged,  even  by 
the  General  Court  itself,  who  had  "  declared  that  it 
must  be  and  should  be  seasonably  advanced  " ;  that, 
relying  on  the  justice  and  honor  of  the  Court,  and  at 
the  instance  of  well-wishers  to  the  public  as  well  as  to 
himself,  he  was  persuaded  to  accept  the  office  without 
insisting  on  the  insufficiency  of  the  salary ;  that  he  had 
been  four  years  President,  and  had  found  by  experience 
that  his  salary  had  fallen  far  short  of  his  maintenance. 
He  therefore  petitioned,  that  he  might  be  indemnified 
for  the  loss  he  had  sustained,  for,  unless  this  should  be 
done,  "  the  damage  would  prove  insupportable,  not  to 
say  irreparable."  The  urgency  and  justice  of  this  peti- 
tion drew  nothing  from  the  General  Court  except  a  re- 
solve, "  that  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds  be  added  to  the 
allowance  of  the  memorialists/or  the  year  next  coming." 
And  a  like  sum,  which  sometimes  was  increased  to 
forty,  and  once  to  fifty,  pounds,  was  granted  in  sub- 
sequent years,  "  in  consideration  of  the  extraordinary 
scarcity  and  dearness  of  provisions  and  other  neces- 
saries of  housekeeping."  In  December,  1720,  Presi- 
dent Leverett  addressed  a  supplicatory  letter  to  the 
General  Court,  praying  for  an  indemnification  for 
the  diminution  of  his  subsistence  by  reason  of  the 


326  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  "  demolition  of  the  President's  House,"   and  the  in- 

XV 

'- —  adequacy  of  his  support.  *  This  application  having  pro- 
duced no  effect,  two  of  the  Fellows  of  the  Corporation, 
Mr.  Wadsworth  and  Mr.  Colman,  in  the  ensuing  May 
addressed  the  legislature  on  the  subject,  wholly,  as  they 
assert,  "  from  their  own  mere  motion,  and  without 
any  agency  of  President  Leverett's,"  stating  the  utter 
insufficiency  of  his  salary  for  his  necessary  annual 
expenses,  and  urging,  with  great  pathos,  the  reason- 
ableness and  necessity  of  some  addition  to  his  present 
allowance.!  The*  memorial  was  treated  by  the  legis- 
lature, as  far  as  its  records  indicate,  with  total  neglect. 
The  President  was  left  to  struggle  with  poverty  and 
embarrassment.  The  result  was,  that,  after  sixteen 
years  of  faithful  and  laborious  service,  on  a  salary  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  annum,  exclusive 
of  the  abovementioned  grants,  his  estate,  at  his  death, 
was  found  bankrupt ;  being  in  debt  upwards  of  two 
thousand  pounds,  for  the  payment  of  which  sum  his 
children  were  compelled  to  sell  the  mansion-house  of 
Governor  Leverett,  which  had  descended  to  them  from 
their  great-grandfather.  These  circumstances  appear 
on  the  records  of  the  General  Court,  in  a  memorial 
Memorial  presented  by  the  daughters  and  heirs  of  President 
daughters  Leverett,  in  the  year  1726,  in  connexion  with  this 

for  an  al-  *.''.."'. 

lowance.  further  statement,  that  their  father  had  been  "  neces- 
sitated, for  the  decent  support  of  his  family,  to  sink 
the  yearly  rent  of  his  own  estate,  and  to  fall  in  debt 
one  hundred  pounds  every  year  during  his  presidency," 
and  that,  the  President's  house  having  been  pulled 
down  to  make  way  for  the  new  College,  their  father 
had  been  subjected  for  four  years  to  the  additional 

*  See  above,  p.  283.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  LIX. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  327 

expense  of  twenty  pounds  annual  rent ;  and  that  rent   CHAPTER 
for  two  months  was  due  for  their  house  while  occu-  L 


pied  by  President  Wadsworth. 

This  memorial  was  first  presented  to  the  Council  P 

T»         •  i  -11        *nS8  there- 

of the  Province,  and  was  by  them  transmitted  to  the  on  of  the 

J  m  .  Council  ; 

House  of  Representatives,  with  a  special  and  earnest 
message,  recommending  it  to  their  favor,  accompanied 
by  a  solemn  declaration,  that,  "  in  the  opinion  of  that 
board,  the  justice  and  honor  of  this  Court  are  much 
concerned  in  making  compensation  to  the  heirs  of 
President  Leverett  for  the  loss  accruing  to  his  estate 
through  the  insufficiency  of  his  allowance." 

This  message  and  the  memorial  were  received  and 
acted  upon  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  and  of  the 

*  House  of 

cold  spirit  of  calculation,  or  under  the  influence  of  the  Represent- 
atives. 

vindictive  spirit  of  party.  They  voted  "  thirty  pounds 
to  the  petitioners  in  full  satisfaction  of  and  in  answer 
to  the  petition,"  declaring,  that  of  this  sum  twenty 
pounds  were  for  the  arrearages  of  salary  occurring  in 
the  month  antecedent  to  the  President's  death,  and 
ten  pounds  for  the  two  months'  rent  remaining  due, 
as  stated  in  the  memorial. 

It  would  have  been  grateful  to  have  left  this  last- 
mentioned  feature  of  the  period  in  the  oblivion,  to 
which  it  well  deserves,  from  its  character,  to  be  con- 
signed. But  public  bodies,  acting  in  subserviency  to 
the  corrupt  propensities  or  party  passions  of  the  day, 
are  only  amenable  to  a  returning  sound  state  of  public 
opinion.  And  the  sole  principle  of  control  upon  such 
bodies  is  identified  with  the  certainty,  that,  sooner  or 
later,  History,  in  the  exercise  of  an  inexorable  fidelity, 
will  drag  the  meanness  or  injustice  of  power,  whether 
of  one  or  of  many,  to  receive  its  ultimate  reward  of 
disgrace  from  her  tribunal. 


328  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Difficulties  attending  the  Selection  of  a  President.  —  Cotton  Mather, 
Wadsworth,  Colman,  and  Joseph  Sewall,  Candidates.  —  Election 
of  Sewall.  —  Dissatisfaction  of  Cotton  Mather. — Sewall  declines 
the  Appointment.  —  Election  of  Colman.  —  Overseers  apply  to 
the  General  Court  for  a  sufficient  Salary  for  him.  —  Vote  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  on  the  Application. —  Colman  makes  a 
fixed  Salary  the  Condition  of  his  Acceptance.  —  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives refuse  it.  —  Colman  declines  the  Presidency. — Wads- 
worth  chosen  President.  —  Accepts.  —  General  Court  grant  a 
Salary. —  Cotton  Mather  attacks  the  Character  of  Leverett.  —  Com- 
parison of  the  Lives  of  Mather  and  Leverett. 

CHAPTER       AFTER  the  death  of  President  Leverett  the  attention 

XVI. 

— —  of  the  friends  of  the  College  was  concentrated  on  the 

Difficulties        ,  _   .  .  __,.  .  _     .  ... 

in  choosing  choice  of  his  successor.      1  he  relations  ol  the  religious 

a  Presi-  i      ,«•'•"»  •  /•     i        T»         •  t  t  i 

dent.  and  political  parties  or  the  Province,  and  the  depend- 
ence of  the  College  on  annual  grants  from  the  legis- 
lature for  the  support  of  the  President,  rendered  a 
satisfactory  selection  among  the  candidates  for  the 
office  unusually  difficult,  and  gave  intensity  to  the 
interest  of  the  occasion. 

The  independent  and  successful  stand  made  by  the 
Corporation  against  the  attempt  to  remove  three  of 
their  number,  on  the  claim  of  Sever  and  Welsteed. 
had  no  tendency  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  That  conclusive  defence  of  the 
chartered  rights  of  the  Corporation  had  been  chiefly 
the  work  of  Colman  and  Wadsworth.  The  talent 
and  fidelity  they  had  thus  manifested  had  endeared 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  329 

both  to  the  friends  of  the  institution  ;  to  whom  the   CHAPTER 

XVI. 

elevation  of  either  to  the  President's  chair  would  have  - 
been,   perhaps,    equally   acceptable.      The   claims  of  tiv  "claims 

_,  l  J  .  ....  ofColman 

Colman,  though  the  younger  of  the  two  candidates,  andWads- 
were,  from  his  more  extensive  acquaintance  with  life 
and  the  world,  higher  than  those  of  Wadsworth.  But, 
as  the  first  pastor  of  the  Manifesto  Church,  and  as 
the  leader  of  that  ominous  secession  from  the  doctrines 
of  the  early  Platform,  he  was  peculiarly  obnoxious  to 
the  stricter  sect  of  the  Calvinists.  His  spirit  was  more 
active  than  that  of  Wadsworth ;  his  temper,  bolder 
and  more  ardent.  The  Corporation,  aware  of  the  re- 
lations of  individuals  and  parties,  were  unwilling  to 
choose  a  member  of  their  own  board,  and,  in  a  spirit 
eminently  catholic,  gave  a  pledge  of  their  desire  to 
soften  the  asperities  of  religious  controversy,  by  se- 
lecting a  President  from  the  ranks  of  their  opponents. 

The  Rev.  Cotton  Mather  and  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Sewall  at  that  time  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
Calvinistic  party.  Both  were  clergymen  holding  pas- 
toral relations  to  churches  in  Boston.  Both  had  given 
unequivocal  evidence  of  their  discontent  with  the  re- 
ligious influences  and  literary  state  of  the  College. 

In  favor  of  Mather,  Dr.  Eliot  asserts,*  "  The  voice  claims  of 
of  the  people  cried  aloud,  and  it  was  declared  even  Mather. 
in  the  General  Court,  that  he  ought  to  be  President ; 
but  it   was  decided  otherwise  by  the  Corporation." 
This  assertion  is  considered  by  Peirce,f  as  "  a  charge 
made    against   the    Corporation,   of   disregarding   the 
voice  of  the  people,"  which  he  examines  and  seriously 
refutes.     But  probably  it  was  the  intention  of  Eliot 

*  Biography,  art.  Cotton  Mather. 

t  See  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.,  p.  135. 

VOL.    I.  42 


330  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   only  to  state,  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  many  indi- 
—  viduals  that  Cotton  Mather  should  be  selected,  with 
whom,  as  the  result  showed,  the  Corporation  did  not 
coincide. 

The  learning  and  industry  of  Cotton  Mather,  his 
voluminous  writings,  and  his  theological  zeal,  gave  him 
popular  and  ostensible  claims  to  the  presidency  of  the 
College ;  a  station  to  which,  it  is  well  known,  he  had 
long  aspired.  But  violence  of  passion,  frequent  coarse- 
ness of  language,  and  deficiency  in  judgment,  to  a 
degree  at  times  scarcely  reconcilable  with  common 
sense,  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  those  who  disa- 
greed, and  little  acceptable  to  those  who  coincided 
with  him,  in  their  view  of  church  discipline  and  re- 
ligious doctrines.  By  the  former  his  election  would 
have  been  considered  as  *a  positive  evil,  and  by  the 
latter  as  a  very  uncertain  good.  His  pretensions  were, 
therefore,  passed  over  by  a  general  consent,  and,  on 

The  Rev.     the  llth  of  August,  1724,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sewall  was 

sewaii        elected  President  of  Harvard  College  by  the  Corpora- 
chosen  * 
President,    tion,  and  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month  was  approved 

by  the  Overseers.  Cotton  Mather  notices  this  ap- 
pointment in  his  Diary  with  one  of  those  bitter  sar- 
castic sneers,  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  indulge. 
"  This  day,"  he  writes,  "  Dr.  Sewall  was  chosen 
President  for  his  piety"* 

In  another  place  he  thus  gives  scope  to  his  feelings ; 
"  I  am  informed  that  yesterday  the  six  men  who 
call  themselves  the  Corporation  of  the  College  met, 
and,  contrary  to  the  epidemical  expectation  of  the 
country,  chose  a  modest  young  man,  of  whose  piety 
(and  little  else)  every  one  gives  a  laudable  character. 

*  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ.,  p.  141. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  331 

"  I   always  foretold  these  two  things  of  the  Corpo-   CHAPTER 

"jf  vr 

ration  ;  first,  that,  if  it  were  possible  for  them  to  steer '. 

clear  of  me,  they  will  do  so ;  secondly,  that,  if  it  were 
possible  for  them  to  act  foolishly,  they  will  do  so. 

"  The  perpetual  envy  with  which  my  essays  to  serve 
the  kingdom  of  God  are  treated  among  them,  and  the 
dread  that  Satan  has  of  my  beating  up  his  quarters  at 
the  College,  led  me  into  the  former  sentiment;  the 
marvellous  indiscretion,  with  which  the  affairs  of  the 
College  are  managed,  led  me  into  the  latter."* 

Cotton  Mather  well  understood,  that,  by  the  election 
of  Sewall,  the  Corporation  sought  to  conciliate  the 
predominating  religious  influences  of  the  Province. 
Sewall,  though  not  deficient  in  other  qualifications  for 
the  President's  chair,  besides  piety,  was  not  distin- 
guished for  possessing  them.  The  office  was  not 
suited  either  to  his  character  or  his  views.  Amiable, 
faithful,  and  affectionate,  he  was  peculiarly  adapted 
to  the  office  of  teacher  and  pastor.  He  had  the  good 
sense  to  realize  the  advantages  he  possessed ;  and  his 
church,  by  refusing  their  assent  to  his  removal  to  the 
College,  expressed  the  wishes  and  affections  of  their 
pastor  not  less  than  their  own. 

Mr.   Sewall  having  declined  the  appointment,  the  Mr.sewaii 
selection  of  a  President  devolved  again  on  the  Corpo-  thepresi- 
ration,  who,  on  the  18th  of  November,  1724,  fulfilled 
that  duty  by  the  election  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Col-  The  Rev. 
man.     This  eminent  divine,  though,   to  use  his  own  coCm 
expression,  "  long  disused  to  academical  studies  and  President, 
exercises,"  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  confidence 
of  the  best  friends  of  the  College,  and  his  qualifica- 
tions for  the  office  were  many  and  important.     His 

*  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI.  p.  329. 


332  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  talents  were  unquestionable,  and  his  industry  exem- 
XVT  plary.  As  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  his  zeal 
for  the  advancement  of  learning  and  the  interests  of 
the  College  had  been  evidenced  by  a  series  of  perse- 
vering and  successful  efforts.  He  was  the  corre- 
spondent of  Thomas  Hollis,  of  many  other  friends  of 
the  College  among  the  Dissenters  in  England,  and 
of  White  Kennett,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Peterborough, 
to  all  of  whom  he  was  endeared  by  his  catholic  spirit. 
No  individual  in  the  Province  possessed  higher  quali- 
fications for  the  office  than  Mr.  Colman. 

His  election  was  undoubtedly  not  acceptable  to 
many  of  the  Overseers,  but  they  had  no  candidate 
to  interpose  with  any  hope  of  success,  and  his  ap- 
pointment was  consequently  approved  by  that  board 
on  the  24th  of  November,  1724.  Cotton  Mather, 
who  had  continued  to  cherish  hopes  that  the  in- 
fluences of  the  predominating  religious  party  in  the 
Province  would  eventually  effect  his  election,  thus 
indicates  the  disappointment  he  experienced,  in  his 
Diary,  on  the  22d  of  November,  1724;  "The  Cor- 
poration of  the  miserable  College  do  again  (on  a 
fresh  opportunity)  treat  me  with  their  accustomed 
indignity." 

Financial         At  this  period  the  prospects  of  the  College  were 
mentofthe  affected    by    pecuniary    embarrassments.      Its    funds 

College.  J      r  j 

were  scanty  and,  almost  the  whole  of  them,  specifi- 
cally appropriated.  The  support  of  its  President, 
even  in  the  humble  style  which  the  simple  state  of 
society  then  required,  was  dependent  upon  the  favor 
of  the  General  Court,  who  made  an  annual  grant  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  Massachusetts  currency, 
generally  without  regard  to  the  depreciation  of  the 
circulating  medium.  The  insufficiency  of  this  grant 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  333 

had  been  strikingly  manifested  by  the  fate  and  for-   CHAPTER 

tunes  of  Leverett;    and   the  friends  of  the   College  ! — 

now  resolved  to  attempt,  if  possible,  to  enlarge  the 
amount,  and,  by  connecting  it  with  the  acceptance  of 
the  office,  to  give  the  transaction  the  aspect  of  a  con- 
tract, and  thus  place  it  upon  a  surer  basis  than  the 
precarious  favor  of  the  General  Court.  To  this  end 
the  Overseers,  at  the  same  meeting  in  which  they  ap- 
proved the  election  of  Mr.  Cohnan,  having  appointed 
a  committee  to  give  him  notice  of  the  choice,  and 
to  apply  to  his  church  for  his  discharge  from  their  ser- 
vice, directed  the  committee  to  wait  upon  the  General 
Court,  to  inform  them  of  his  election,  and  to  "  move 
for  a  proper  salary  for  his  encouragement."  The  com- 
mittee accordingly  presented  to  them  a  memorial,  on 
the  llth  of  December,  1724,  praying  that  they  would 
"  appoint  a  larger  salary  than  has  been  usually  allowed, 
for  the  honorable  maintenance  of  the  President,"  on 
which  the  following  vote  was  passed.  "  In  the  House  of 

House  of  Representatives  read,  and  forasmuch  as  at  atives  re- 
fuse a  grant 

present  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  church,  of  which  toMr.coi- 

man. 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Colman  is  pastor,  can  be  persuaded  to 
part  from  him,  or  whether  Mr.  Colman  is  inclinable 
to  leave  his  church  and  undertake  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College,  and  this  being  a  matter  of 
great  weight  and  importance,  especially  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  churches  in  this  Province,  as  well  as 
to  the  said  College  ;  Therefore  voted,  that  the  further 
consideration  of  this  memorial  be  referred  until  the 
said  Mr.  Colman's  mind,  as  well  as  of  the  church  of 
which  he  is  pastor,  be  communicated  to  this  Court, 
and  made  certain,  whether  he  and  they  are  willing  he 
should  accept  of  the  choice  and- undertake  the  office 


334  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  of  a  President  of  Harvard  College,  to  which  he  is 
'. —  chosen  as  aforesaid." 

This  vote  having  been  passed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  was  not  concurred  in  by  the  Council. 

The  disposition  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
relation  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Colman,  was  indicated 
by  the  debate  and  their  proceedings.  One  of  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Bos- 
ton declared  in  his  speech,  that  "  Dr.  Colman  was  a 
man  of  no  learning  compared  with  Dr.  Mather."  The 
tenor  of  their  vote  gave  no  evidence  of  a  desire  to 
encourage  the  former  to  accept  the  appointment,  and 
a  settled  determination  was  apparent,  that  their  pro- 
ceedings should  be  such  as  not  to  admit  of  being 
construed  into  a  contract  for  a  fixed  salary. 

The  state  of  feeling  towards  Mr.  Colman  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  thus  indicated,  was  far 
from  being  propitious ;  and  he  had  too  much  spirit 
and  wisdom,  voluntarily  to  trust  the  fortunes  of  his 
life  to  their  future  favor.  The  history  of  the  Province 
Mr.  Coi-  was  faM  °f  evidence  touching  the  nature  of  the  regard 
Paid  by  the  General  Court  to  the  wants  of  the  Presi- 
the  dents  of  the  College  ;  and  Mr.  Colman  was  deter- 
rV  e  mined,  that  he  would  not  add  another  to  the  list  of 
'  their  disappointed  dependants. 

He  knew  that  Dunster,*  after  long,  faithful,  and 
most  successful  services,  had  been  compelled  to  resign 
by  the  prevailing  Paedobaptist  fanaticism,  under  cir- 
cumstances of  great  pecuniary  embarrassment ;  and 
the  application  of  the  Corporation  for  his  relief,  re- 
jected by  the  General  Court  with  a  cold  and  somewhat 
contemptuous  denial.  He  knew  that  Chauncy,  after 

*  See  above,  pp.  18-21. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  335 

accepting   the    office  of   President  on    a   promise  of    CHAPTER 

liberal  maintenance  by  the  General  Court,  *  had  been  

stinted  in  his  resources,  and  his  touching  appeals  to 
their  humanity  and  good  faith  neglected  ;  and  that, 
aftej  a  long,  laborious,  and  useful  life,  he  left  a  help- 
less family,  who  were  compelled  to  expose  to  the 
world  their  utter  poverty,  in  order  to  awaken  that  body 
to  the  performance  of  a  simple  act  of  retributive  justice. 
He  had  seen  Mather  and  Willard,  dependent  for  their 
compensation  upon  annual  grants,  and  chiefly  indebted 
for  their  support  to  their  pastoral  relation.  And  last 
of  all,  he  had  witnessed  Leverett,  after  entering  upon 
the  presidency,  and  resigning  all  his  other  offices  under 
full  assurances  of  a  liberal  maintenance,  neither  sup- 
ported adequately  to  his  station,  nor  even  requited 
according  to  the  depreciation  of  the  currency,  and, 
after  services  which  have  rendered  his  presidency  an 
era  in  the  history  of  the  College,  dying  bankrupt, 
and  his  children  compelled  to  sell  the  estates  of  their 
ancestors  to  pay  the  debts  of  their  father ;  the  Gen- 
eral Court  regardless  of  all  solicitations  for  sympathy, 
and  of  all  claims  but  those  of  strictly  legal  obligation.! 
Had  Colman,  therefore,  deemed  them  favorable  to  his 
election,  the  past  gave  him  no  reason  to  rely  on  their  ( 
sense  of  justice,  or  their  generosity.  He  knew  well, 
also,  that  he  was  particularly  obnoxious  to  a  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  among 
whom,  from  circumstances  already  explained,  theo- 
logical zeal  had  concentrated  the  high  Calvinistic 
influences  of  the  Province.  Of  all  persecutors,  poli- 
ticians whose  power  depends  upon  a  display  of  re- 
ligious zeal,  are  naturally  the  most  bitter.  Colman 

*  See  above,  pp.  25-28.  f  Ibid.,  p.  S27. 


336  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   thus  writes  to  the   Bishop  of   Peterborough   on   this 

XVI 

- —  subject,  "  I  am  not  well  in  the  opinion  of  our  House 
of  Representatives  of  late  years,  on  whom  the  Presi- 
dent depends  for  his  subsistence,  and  they  could  not 
have  pinched  me  without  the  chair's  suffering  with 
me,  which  I  could  by  no  means  consent  it  should  do 
for  my  sake."*  For  this  ill  opinion  there  existed  no 
cause  but  his  theological  course  and  his  fidelity  to 
the  interests  of  Harvard  College.  Colman  was  the 
recognised  leader  of  the  most  liberal  religious  party 
of  the  Province,  and  had  dared  openly  to  declare,  in 
defiance  of  the  adherents  to  ancient  creeds  and  plat- 
forms, that  "  the  Bible  was  his  platform. "f 

With  a  perfect  understanding  of  the  existence 
and  the  causes  of  that  "  ill  opinion  "  entertained  for 
him  by  the  General  Court,  Mr.  Colman  determined 
to  bring  to  a  quick  decision  the  question  pending 
before  them,  respecting  his  support.  After  receiv- 
ing private  information  of  the  vote,  which  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  on  the  llth  of  Decem- 
ber, and  of  the  rejection  of  it  by  the  Council,  he  im- 
His  letter  mediately  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Honorable  Samuel 

to  Chief  J 

justice        Sewall,  chairman  of  the   committee,  "  fearing  lest  on 

bewail.  °  t 

my  account  there  may  be  like  to  ensue  any  difficulty 
to  the  honorable  government,  or  detriment  to  the  Col- 
lege, for  want  of  an  honorable  allowance  or  salary 
to  the  President."!  In  this  letter,  after  stating  his 
disinclination  to  accept  the  office  of  President,  his 
reluctance  to  leave  his  church,  and  the  zeal  with 
which  he  had  served  the  College  as  a  member  of 
the  Corporation,  he  supplicates  the  General  Court  to 
enable  any  one  who  may  be  elected  to  that  station, 

*  Turell's  Life  of  Colman,  p.  136.         1   Ibid.,  p.  96.        %  Ibid.,  p.  56. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  337 

to  apply  himself  to  the  studies  and  exercises  appro-   CHAPTER 

xvr. 
priate  to  the  office,  by  granting  a  sufficient  and  honor-  -     _ — . 

able  support ;  and  he  proceeds  to  declare,  that,  "  for 
the  Honorable  Court  to  insist  on  those  terms,  of 
knowing  my  mind,  whether  I  am  willing  to  accept  of 
the  choice,  and  to  undertake  the  office  of  President,  to 
which  I  am  chosen,  and  also  of  knowing  my  church's 
mind,  whether  they  can  part  from  me,  before  they 
will  fix  any  salary  for  me  in  the  said  office,  must  de- 
termine me  to  give  my 'answer  in  the  negative  to  the 
Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, which  in  that  case  I  now  do." 

On  the  17th  of  December,  1724,  this  letter  from  Mr. 
Colman  wras  read  before  the  board  of  Overseers,  who 
directed  a  committee  to  wait  on  the  General  Court 
with  Mr.  Colman's  answer,  and  to  pray,  "  that  the 
matter  of  a  salary  may  be  considered  by  them,  and 
so  acted  upon  as  may  be  most  for  the  speedy  settle- 
ment of  a  President  in  the  said  College,  and  therein 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  Province." 

The  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
on  this  petition  are  thus  stated  on  their  records. 

"  18th  December,  1724.  A  vote  of  the  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,  for  applying  to  the  General  As- 
sembly for  the  settling  a  salary  on  the  President  of 
the  said  College. 

"  In  the   House   of  Representatives  read,   and  the  House  of 

,        i  f^  . ,,  i  v    i      Represent- 

question  was  put,   whether  the    Court  will   establish  ativesre- 
a  salary  or   allowance  for  the  President  of   Harvard  salary. 
College,  for  the  time  being,  before  the  person  chosen 
for  that  office  has  accepted  the  duty  and  trust  thereof; 
it   passed    in   the    negative,    nemine    contradicente." 
The  Council,  indeed,  non-concurred  in  the  vote  of  the 
House  ;  but  the  symptoms  of  hostility  were  too  strong, 
VOL.  T.  43 


338  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   and  Mr.  Colman  had  too  much  spirit  and  experience 

'. —  to  trust  the  future   support   of  himself  and  family  to 

favor  so  precarious.  On  the  26th  of  December,  there- 
fore, in  reply  to  another  application  from  the  board  of 
Overseers,  he  transmitted  his  final  answer,  declining 
the  presidency  of  the  College. 

The  difficulties  attending  the  selection  of  another 
candidate  were  numerous  and  agitating,  and  further 
action  on  the  subject  was  postponed  for  nearly  six 
months. 

During  the  intervening   period,  the  wishes  of   the 

friends  of  the  College  had  united  in  favor  of  the  Rev. 

The  Rev.     Benjamin  Wadsworth,  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 

wadsworth  Boston,  who  was  elected  by   the  Corporation  on  the 

elected  J 

President.  8th,  and  approved  by  the  Overseers  on  the  10th,  of 
June,  1725.  From  his  Diary  it  appears,  that  his 
reluctance  to  accept  the  office  was  extreme.  After 
the  application  made  by  the  Overseers  to  his  church, 
"  for  their  consent  to  part  with  him  for  that  ser- 
vice," on  being  called  upon  officially,  "  by  the  three 
deacons  of  his  church,  to  know  his  mind  about  the 
call  given  to  him  to  be  President,"  he  thus  writes ; 
"  I  told  the  messengers  from  our  church,  that  I  had 
kept  off  my  own  being  chosen  as  long  and  as  far  as 
I  dared  to  do,  and  had  heartily  desired  and  endeav- 
oured to  have  the  vacancy  filled  up  otherwise  ;  that, 
as  to  my  own  desires  and  inclinations,  I  had  much 
rather  stay  with  the  church  than  go  to  Cambridge ; 
yet,  considering  of  how  great  weight  and  importance 
the  College  is  for  the  welfare  of  the  country,  so  far 
as  concerned  myself,  I  dared  not  negative  the  call  given 
me  to  be  President."  His  church  having  "  resolved 
(after  serious  consideration  and  prayer  to  God  for  di- 
rection) that,  if  our  Reverend  pastor,  Mr.  Wadsworth, 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  339 


xvr. 


judges  it  to  be  his  duty  to  accept  of  the  call  given  CHAPTER 
him,  we  will  humbly  submit,  and  say  '  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done,' "  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Over- 
seers, accepting  the  office.  In  this  letter  he  declares 
how  sensible  he  is  of  his  "  insufficiency  to  the  weighty 
arid  important  service  to  which  he  was  called."  "  If 
I  had  consulted  flesh,  and  blood,"  he  adds,  "  I  think 
I  should  have  returned  a  speedy  and  peremptory  nega- 
tive to  this  call.  So  far  as  I  know  my  own  heart,  no 
carnal  or  worldly  views  have  at  all  moved  me  to  think 
of  an  affirmative  answer ;  yet,  considering  the  glory  of 
God,  the  interest  of  religion  in  the  present  and  suc- 
ceeding generations,  the  good  of  the  whole  Province 
in  various  regards,  are  deeply  concerned,  as  I  humbly 
conceive,  in  the  settlement  of  the  College ;  and  sundry 
essays  for  its  settlement  having  proved  abortive  and 
unsuccessful ;  I  say,  seriously  considering  these  things, 
I  dare  not  (for  fear  of  offending  that  God,  whose  I  am 
and  whom  I  serve,)  give  a  negative  answer  to  the 
invitation  I  have  to  be  President  of  the  College." 

The  refusal  of  Mr.  Colman  to  accept  the  station 
of  President,  until  some  specific  engagement  was 
made  by  the  General  Court,  sufficiently  and  publicly 
indicated  a  want  of  confidence  in  their  indefinite 
promises  of  support,  and  awakened  them  to  an  earnest 
and  active  exhibition  of  interest  in  the  College. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1725,  being  the  day  after 
Mr.  Wadsworth  had  declared  his  acceptance  of  that 
office,  the  General  Court  granted  him  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  "  to  enable  him  to  enter  upon  and 
manage  the  great  affair  of  that  presidency ; "  and  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  revenues,  appropriations, 
and  expenditures  of  the  College,  with  powers  "  to  look 


340  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   out  a  suitable  house  for  the  reception  of  the  President," 

XVI. 

—  and  make  report  at  the  next  session,  "  that  so  an 
honorable  settlement  and  support  may  be  allowed  to 
the  Rev.  President  of  Harvard  College,  which  is  the 
full  intention  of  this  Court." 

Although  Mr.  Wadsworth  belonged  to  the  liberal 
class  of  the  clergy,  he  was  less  obnoxious  than  Col- 
man  to  the  predominating  religious  sect  in  the  Pro- 
vince. He  was  of  a  temperament  less  bold,  ardent, 
and  active,  than  Colman,  and  his  church  had  been 
formed  on  the  early  synodical  Platform,  and  not, 
like  that  of  which  Mr.  Colman  was  pastor,  in  oppo- 
sition to  some  of  the  cherished  principles  of  the  ad- 
herents to  that  instrument.  Even  Cotton  Mather 
derived  a  qualified  consolation  for  his  own  disappoint- 
ment, from  the  fact,  that  Mr.  Colman  had  not  suc- 
ceeded. In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hollis,  he  expressed  a 
favorable  opinion  of  Mr.  Wadsworth.  But  he  could 
not  omit  the  opportunity  to  display  his  malevolence 
towards  President  Leverett,  although  he  had  now 
passed  that  "  bourn,"  at  which  envy  withdraws  from 
its  victim,  and  hatred  usually  listens  to  the  suggestions 
of  humanitv. 

*/ 

Although  Cotton  Mather  pretended  "  to  keep  at 
the  greatest  distance  from  all  the  affairs  of  Harvard,"* 
yet  he  eagerly  seized  every  occasion  to  excite  sus- 
picions concerning  both  its  literary  and  religious 
character.  When,  in  August,  1723,  the  Overseers 
instituted  a  committee  of  inquiry  into  the  state  of 
the  College,  under  circumstances  indicating  doubts 
upon  that  subject,!  his  never-sleeping  animosity  was 
roused  into  immediate  action.  Among  his  papers 

*  See  above,  p.  226.  t  See  above,  p.  317. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  341 

there  is  yet  preserved  a  document  in  his  own  hand-   CHAPTER 

XVI. 

writing,  purporting  to  be  "  points  needful  to  be  in-  

quired  into  relating  to  the  education  at  Harvard 
College."  It  is  without  date,  but  by  its  referring  to 
"  some  newly  passed  through  the  College,"  and  to  "  the 
performances  of  a  deceased  person  of  distinguished 
industry  and  fidelity  to  the  churches,"  the  period  at 
which  it  must  have  been  written  is  sufficiently  indi- 
cated, as  Cotton  Mather  undoubtedly  referred  to  his 
own  son,  who  was  graduated  in  July,  1723,  and  to 
Increase  Mather,  who  died  in  August  of  the  same  year. 
In  this  month  the  labors  of  the  investigating  committee 
of  the  Overseers  commenced,  and  they  reported  in 
October.  It  hardly  admits  of  a  doubt,  therefore,  that 
this  writing  was  prepared  with  reference  to  that  com- 
mittee, and  was  intended  to  excite  and  direct  their 
inquiries.  It  carefully  enumerates  "  the  points  need- 
ful to  be  investigated,"  and  breathes  a  spirit  of  settled 
animosity  to  the  government  of  the  College,  and  discon- 
tent with  its  state  ;  intimates  that  "  learning  is  there 
notoriously  on  its  decay,"  that  the  speaking  of  Latin  is 
neglected  ;  the  authors  allowed  to  be  read  are  "  un- 
profitable and  of  little  regard  "  ;  the  students  are  com- 
pelled "  to  get  by  heart  a  deal  of  insipid  stuff,  of  which 
the  tutors  teach  them  to  believe  nothing ; "  the  scho- 
lars' studies  are  filled  with  books,  "  which  may  truly  be 
called  Satan's  library  " ;  books  having  "  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel "  are  not  recommended,  but  those  "  erro- 
neous and  dangerous  " ;  the  tutors,  having  no  regard 
"  to  the  doctrines  of  grace,"  set  themselves  to  instil 
contrary  principles,  and  grievously  neglect  the  souls 
of  their  pupils  ;  children,  who  left  home  "  with  some 
gospel  symptoms  of  piety,  quickly  lose  all ; "  and 
"  young  ministers,  who  are  the  gifts  of  Christ  in  the 


342  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER    service    of  our  churches,    declare,    that,    before   they 

XVI. 

- —  came  to  be  what  they  are,  they  found  it  necessary 
to  lay  aside  the  sentiments  which  they  brought  from 
the  College  with  them."* 

The  ill  impression  concerning  the  seminary  this 
paper  was  calculated  to  excite,  is  the  more  worthy  of 
notice  because  it  stands  in  singular  contrast  with  the 
impression  conveyed  in  letters  written  to  President 
Leverett  but  a  few  years  before  by  this  same  Cotton 
Mather,  in  which  he  expresses  his  satisfaction  at  the 
number  of  the  sons  of  the  church  who  were  edu- 
cating at  the  College,  and  of  its  "  flourishing  state 
under  Leverett's  sway." 

During  the  last  years  of  Leverett's  life  and  presi- 
dency, a  son  of  Cotton  Mather  was  a  member  of  the 
College,  and  had  received  from  him  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Leverett,  in  which  he  expresses  "  a  full 
persuasion  that  the  President  would  be  a  father  to 
him."  This  confidence  was  not  misplaced ;  for,  in  a 
subsequent  letter  to  Leverett,  Mather  expresses  his 
obligations  to  him,  and  the  Corporation  "  under  your 
influence,  for  the  generous  allowance  to  assist  the 
education  of  my  son,"  declaring  that  it  ought  to  be 
most  gratefully  acknowledged,  and  shall  be  so.  He 
adds,  "  Your  own  more  particular  kind  aspect  upon 
the  child  obliges  me  to  be  very  thankful  for  the 
kindness  of  God  therein  shown  unto  him ;  and  I  am 
so.  His  delight  in  the  College,  which,  indeed,  is  in 
a  singular  manner  owing  to  your  smiles  upon  him, 
and  the  acceptance  he  finds  with  his  superiors  there, 
is  to  me  no  little  consolation.  And  it  is  no  less  a 
satisfaction  that  I  can  reckon  sixteen  or  seventeen  sons 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LX. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  343 


of  tlic  church  whereof  I  am  the  servant,  ivho  belong  at  CHAPTER 

XVI 

this  time  unto  the  College.  Your  paternal  wisdom  _ 
and  goodness  is  what  I  much  rely  upon."  He  con- 
cludes with  "  hearty  prayers,  that  the  Lord  would 
prosper  you,  and  grant  his  blessing  on  your  whole  so- 
ciety flourishing  under  your  sway,  and  make  you  a 
rich  blessing  to  them  and  all  of  us." 

Mather's  son  was  graduated  at  the  College  but  a 
few  months  before  Leverett  died.  Notwithstanding 
the  obligations  these  expressions  imply,  a  year  probably 
did  not  elapse,  before  he  made  the  following  un- 
warrantable attack  on  the  memory  of  President  Lev-  cotton 

*  .  Mather's 

erett,  as  stated  in  a  letter  preserved  in  the  archives  of  attack  on 

1  the  charac- 

the  College,  from  Thomas  Hollis  to  Mr.  Colman,  dated  twof 

er 

on  the  10th  of  February,  1726.  "  I  have  received  a 
letter  from  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  which  gives  me  a  good 
account  of  Mr.  President  Wadsworth,  with  hopes  of 
his  being  very  useful  to  the  College,  preferring  him 
much  to  the  infamous  drone,  his  predecessor." 

The  kind-hearted  Hollis  was  struck  with  astonish- 
ment at  this  wanton  calumny  sent  across  the  Atlantic 
with  intent  to  depreciate  a  distinguished  head  of  the 
College  in  the  opinion  of  its  most  eminent  friend  and 
benefactor. 

"  I  have  written,"  continues  Hollis,  "  to  Cotton 
Mather,  desiring  an  answer  by  the  first  opportunity, 
why  he  brands  the  memory  of  that  man,  now  dead, 
with  such  a  character.  You  have,  in  years  past,  re- 
presented him  to  me,  as  a  gentleman  deserving  a 
much  better  character,  and  I  am  surprised  at  it." 

A  mind  like  Cotton  Mather's  could  neither  thorough- 
ly understand,  nor  justly  appreciate,  the  character  of 
Leverett.  His  election  in  1707,  as  President  of  the 
College,  had  interfered  with  Mather's  long-cherished 


344  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  hope  of  succeeding  his  father  in  that  office.  And  it 
! —  was  Mather's  custom  to  speak  and  to  write,  in  mo- 
ments of  passion,  with  great  license,  concerning  any 
one,  whom  it  was  his  interest  or  will  to  disparage, 
injustice  of  Judging  by  all  that  is  known  of  the  life,  actions, 
and  thoughts  of  Leverett,  the  epithet  "  infamous  "  was 
never  applied  with  less  color  of  truth  or  show  of 
reason.  That  of  "  drone  "  was  equally  gratuitous  and 
unjustifiable.  The  history  of  Leverett's  presidency  is 
one  continuous  testimony  to  his  active  and  laborious 
fulfilment  of  every  official  duty. 

Leverett's  life  was  now  ended,  and  that  of  Mather 
drawing  swiftly  to  a  close.  He  survived  the  writing 
of  this  letter  only  two  years,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been  the  last  of  his  acts  affecting  the  character  of  the 
College  or  its  officers.  Mather  and  Leverett  both  held 
a  high  place  among  their  contemporaries.  They  were 
within  two  years  of  the  same  College  standing.  Their 
lives  were  passed  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  their  talents 
and  qualities  excited  and  put  to  trial  by  the  same  in- 
fluences and  events.  Both  were  learned  men,  and 
sufficiently,  though  differently,  qualified  for  the  office 
of  President  of  the  College,  which  the  one  eagerly 
sought  but  failed  to  attain,  and  which  the  other  re- 
luctantly accepted.  The  conduct  and  events  of  their 
lives  exhibit  their  characters  in  remarkable  contrast. 
The  spirit  of  Leverett  was  calm,  chastened,  disinter- 
ested, not  indifferent  to  fame,  but  seeking  it  solely 
by  the  path  of  well-discharged  duty.  That  of  Mather 
was  restless,  violent,  selfish,  and  passionate,  craving 
distinction,  and  claiming  it  by  every  form  of  self- 
illustration  and  display.  The  former,  in  the  unwa- 
vering confidence  and  honor  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
received  through  life  the  reward  due  to  his  fidelity, 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  345 

judgment,  and  integrity.     The  latter,  possessed  of  a   CHAPTER 

mind  wayward  and  ill-regulated,   disgusted  his   con- — 

temporaries  by  the  unrestrained  license  of  his  tongue 
and  his  pen,  and  became  the  frequent  subject  of  ridi- 
cule and  derision.*  The  clergy  of  the  period,  admiring 
the  variety  of  Cotton  Mather's  attainments,  the  ex- 
tent of  his  learning,  his  ready  invention,  ceaseless  ac- 
tivity, and  invincible  industry,  and,  above  all,  honoring 
his  professional  zeal,  threw  the  broad  shield  of  their 
authority,  or  the  more  becoming  mantle  of  their 
charity,  over  his  frailties. 

"  Could  I  imagine,"  exclaims  the  Rev.  Joshua  Gee, 
in  a  funeral  sermon  preached  on  the  occasion  of  his 
death,  "  that  any  in  this  assembly  belong  to  that  herd 
of  abandoned  mortals,  whose  sport  it  has  been  to  wreak 
their  venom  upon  a  faithful  servant  of  God,  in  profane 
and  ungodly  scorn  and  derision,  I  would,  in  compas- 
sion to  their  poor  souls,  turn  my  discourse  to  them, 
and  say,  'Mourn,  O  forsaken  wretches,  mourn  at  length 
the  death  of  that  saint,  who  endeavoured,  by  his  holy 
exhortations  and  fervent  prayers,  to  keep  you  from 
the  damnation  of  hell  fire,  and  turn  you  to  the  wisdom 
of  the  just,  while  he  lived  above  the  reach  of  your 
envy  and  malice,  and,  in  imitation  of  his  great  Master, 
Jesus  Christ,  was  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  your 
hearts.  If  you  will  not  mourn  his  death,  God  only 
knows  how  soon,  if  he  have  mercy  on  you,  you  will 
be  constrained  to  it  at  your  own  ;  like  some  others, 
already,  who  have  found  it  impossible  to  take  comfort 
in  the  hopes  of  the  mercy  of  God  till  they  had  re- 
pented and  bewailed  their  abuse  of  his  servant.'  "  f 

*  See  Sparks's  Amer.  Biog.,  Vol.  VI.  p.  334. 

t  See  "  A  Sermon  preached  on  the  Lord's  Day  after  the  Death  of  the 
very  reverend  and  learned  Cotton  Mather,   D.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  Pastor 

VOL.  i.  44 


346  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  The  Rev.  Mr.  Colman,  on  the  other  hand,  who  had 
more  than  any  other  clergyman  been  the  object  of 
Cotton  Mather's  attacks,  after  repeating,  in  a  funeral 
sermon,  the  usual  topics  of  eulogy  on  his  character, 
declares  his  wish  "  to  draw  a  veil  over  every  failure," 
and  intimates  to  "  his  brethren,  the  prophets,  that 
they  have  the  mantle  of  Elijah  wherewith  to  cover 
his  defects  and  infirmities."  *  Time,  however,  has 
unavoidably  lifted  that  "  veil,"  and  thrust  aside  that 
"  mantle,"  which  the  tenderness  of  his  friends  and 
professional  interest  desired  to  spread.  Letters  and 
diaries  of  his  contemporaries,  as  well  as  his  own,  have 
cast  a  light  upon  his  character,  of  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  History,  with  any  regard  to  truth,  not  to  avail 
herself. 

Through  her  faithful  medium  Cotton  Mather  must 
be  transmitted  as  an  individual  of  ungovernable  pas- 
sions and  of  questionable  principles ;  credulous,  in- 
triguing, and  vindictive ;  often  selfish  as  to  his  ends, 
at  times  little  scrupulous  in  the  use  of  means  ;  way- 
ward, aspiring,  and  vain ;  rendering  his  piety  dubious 
by  display,  and  the  motives  of  his  public  services  sus- 
pected by  the  obtrusiveness  of  his  claims  to  honor 
and  place  ;  whose  fanaticism,  if  not  ambition,  gave 
such  a  public  encouragement  to  the  belief  in  the 
agencies  of  the  invisible  world,  as  to  have  been  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  the  widest  spread  misery  and 
disgrace,  to  which  his  age  and  country  were  ever 
subjected. 


of  the  North  Church  in  Boston.     By  Joshua  Gee,  M.  A.,  Pastor  of  the 
same  Church."  p.  20. 

*  See  "  A  Sermon  preached  at  the  Lecture  in  Boston,  two  Days  after 
the  Death  of  the  very  reverend  and  learned  Cotton  Mather,  D.  D.3 
F.  R.  S.,  by  Benjamin  Colman."  p.  24. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


347 


In  the  character  of  Leverett,  there  was  no  obtrusive   CHAPTER 


display,  and  no  subsequent  disgrace  and  disappoint- 
ment. He  studied  not  to  gratify  vanity,  but  to  enable 
himself  better  to  perform  his  duty.  His  labors  were 
practical,  and  in  the  shades  of  the  Academy  he  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  various  and  important  stations, 
to  which  he  was  called  by  the  voice  of  the  commu- 
nity. A  perfect  fulfilment  of  whatever  he  undertook 
was  the  object  to  which  he  limited  his  endeavours. 
At  this  he  aimed ;  in  this  he  succeeded.  His  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  the  College,  in  circum- 
stances of  great  delicacy  and  difficulty,  reflected  an 
honor  on  his  name  and  character,  which  his  contem- 
poraries almost  unanimously  acknowledged,  and  which 
has  been  confirmed  by  the  judgment  of  posterity. 


XVI. 


Harvard  Hall.  Stoughton  Hall.  Massachusetts  Hall. 

MASSACHUSETTS   HALL  ;    BUILT    IN    1720. 


348  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


Change  in  the  political  Relations  of  Massachusetts.  —  Its  Effects  on 
the  College.  —  Nicholas  Sever  elected  Fellow  of  the  Corporation. — 
English  Crown  and  Hierarchy  patronize  the  Episcopal  Church. — 
Its  Clergy  claim  Seats  at  the  Board  of  Overseers. — Alarm  of  the 
Congregational  Church  at  the  Progress  of  Episcopacy.  —  Origin  of 
the  Puritans. —  Spirit  and  Policy  of  the  first  Emigrants  to  New 
England.  —  Edmund  Randolph  founds  the  first  Episcopal  Society 
in  New  England.  —  Arrival  of  Edmund  Andros.  —  His  violent 
Seizure  of  the  South  Church  for  Episcopal  Worship.  —  Progress  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  after  the  Revolution  of  1688.  — "  Society  for 
propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  "  established  in  its  Aid. — 
Mr.  Colman's  Correspondence  with  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough  on 
the  Proceedings  of  that  Society.  —  Timothy  Cutler,  Rector  of  Yale 
College,  and  Six  other  Clergymen  of  Connecticut,  converted  to 
Episcopalianism.  —  Honors  and  Rewards  bestowed  on  Cutler  in 
England.  —  He  is  chosen  Rector  of  King's  Chapel  in  Boston. — 
Claims  a  Seat  at  the  Board  of  Overseers.  —  Grounds  of  his  Claim.  — 
Rejected  by  the  Overseers.  —  He  appeals  to  the  General  Court.  — 
Overseers  reply  to  his  Appeal,  which  is  rejected  by  the  General 
Court.  —  He  renews  his  Claim  before  the  Overseers.  —  Final  Re- 
jection of  it  by  that  Board. 

CHAPTER       ABOUT  this  period  many  circumstances  indicate  the 

XVII. 

—  advance  of  a  new  era  in  Massachusetts.  More  than 
thirty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  Charter  of  William 
and  Mary  had  changed  the  political  relations  of  the 
Province.  All  those  individuals,  whose  characters  and 
opinions  had  been  formed  under  the  "  Old  Charter," 
had  passed,  or  were  rapidly  passing,  away.  The  con- 
cerns of  the  Province  were  now  governed  by  the 
general  rules  of  political  wisdom.  The  Clergy  began 
to  perceive,  that  their  influence  on  public  affairs,  al- 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

though  yet  great,  was  diminishing.  By  the  events  of  CHAPTER 
the  last  thirty  years  they  had  become  convinced,  that  — — ' — 
neither  the  power  of  the  Gospel  nor  their  own  was 
advanced  by  those  violent  doctrinal  dissensions,  which 
had  been  excited  and  perpetuated  chiefly  by  the 
Mathers.  The  several  divisions  of  the  Congregational 
church  began  to  evince  towards  each  other  a  more 
catholic  spirit,  and  the  character  and  prospects  of  Har- 
vard College  were  favorably  affected  by  the  gradual 
cessation  of  their  controversies.  By  silent  though 
apparently  common  consent,  its  theological  character 
was  by  degrees  modified,  and  it  was  encouraged  to 
assume  more  decidedly  the  aspect  of  a  literary  insti- 
tution. 

The    acceptance  of  the    President's  chair    by  Mr.  Nicholas 
Wadsworth  occasioned  a  vacancy  in  the  Corporation,  chosen  into 
which  was  immediately  filled  by  the  election  of  Nicho-  rateion°rp' 

1725. 

las  Sever,  a  tutor,  and  one  of  the  individuals,  whose  sept  \s. 
claim  to  a  seat  that  board  had  resisted  with  firmness 
and  success.  A  seat,  which  the  Corporation  would 
not  concede  to  a  claim  of  right,  they  now  voluntarily 
gave  by  election.  The  pretensions  of  Sever  had  been 
supported  in  their  full  extent  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. His  election,  having  the  appearance  of 
submission  to  their  authority,  was  very  acceptable  to 
that  body,  as  also  to  the  high  Calvinistic  clergy,  who 
had  uniformly  and  zealously  advocated  his  claims  to 
a  place  in  the  Corporation.  By  the  election  of  Sever, 
and  that  of  Mr.  Sewall  as  President,  the  Corporation 
were  regarded  as  giving  evidence  of  a  disposition  to 
coalesce  with  the  predominating  religious  influences 
of  the  Province.  The  increasing  favor  with  which 
the  College  was  viewed  by  the  General  Court  was  1726. 
evinced  the  succeeding  year  by  an  extraordinary  dis- 


350  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   play   of  liberality  in    their  provision  for  the   support 
_ — ~   of   President  Wadsworth,   and  for  the  erection  of  a 

President's  house. 
Alarm  or          The  wisdom  of  terminating  their  disputes,  and  of 

the  clergy  '         ,  .   .  .  .         .  '  . 

m  the  pro-    soltening  asperities,   began  about  this  time  to  be  im- 

gress  of 

Episco-  pressed  on  both  divisions  of  the  Congregational  clergy 
by  very  ominous  events.  Since  the  commencement 
of  the  eighteenth  century  they  had  seen  the  Episcopal 
church  establishing  itself  in  almost  every  important 
settlement  of  New  England,  aided  by  the  bounty  and 
upheld  by  the  authority  of  the  English  crown  and 
hierarchy.  The  fears  and  antipathies  of  the  poli- 
ticians harmonized  with  those  of  the  divines.  Both 
viewed  with  equal  jealousy  these  encroachments  of 
transatlantic  power.  The  ecclesiastical  and  monarchi- 
cal influences  of  the  parent  state  were,  in  their  appre- 
hension, identical  in  interest  and  policy,  and  alike 
opposed  to  the  civil  and  religious  establishments  of 
New  England. 

Early  in  the  presidency  of  Wadsworth  the  Episco- 
pal clergy  of  Boston  claimed  seats  in  the  board  of 
Overseers  as  "  teaching  elders  "  of  one  of  the  six 
towns  enumerated  in  the  College  charter.  Their 
attempt  thus  to  obtain  an  introduction  into  the  govern- 
ment of  the  College  occasioned  one  of  the  most  agi- 
tating controversies  of  that  period.  To  form  a  correct 
estimate  of  the  motives  and  passions  it  involved,  a 
brief  statement  will  be  given  of  the  causes  and  events, 
which  had  excited  throughout  New  England  a  deter- 
mined opposition  to  every  form  of  Episcopal  influence.- 
origin  of  The  sect  of  the  Puritans  originated  in  Germany 
tans.  about  the  year  1556,  among  the  English  reformers, 
who  fled  from  the  persecutions  of  Queen  Mary.  One 
congregation,  which  had  taken  refuge  at  Strasburgh, 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  351 

determined  on  the  use  of  the   service-book  of    King   CHAPTER 

XVII 

Edward,  while  another,  established  at  Frankfort,  re-  - 


jected  not  only  the  English  Litany,  Liturgy,  and  sur- 
plice, but  also  the  practice  of  answering  aloud  after  the 
minister,  and  that  of  reading  portions  of  Scripture  in 
the  public  worship  of  the  Sabbath.  The  disputes  on 
this  subject  between  these  societies  becoming  serious, 
they  applied  for  advice  to  John  Calvin,  who  was 
esteemed  an  oracle  on  such  occasions.  In  reply,  Cal- 
vin characterized  the  English  liturgy  as  "  the  leavings 
of  Popish  dregs,"  and  recommended  to  them  "  to 
enterprise  a  farther  reformation,  and  to  set  up  some- 
thing more  filed  from  rust,  and  purer"* 

From  this  language  of  Calvin,  and  from  the  object 
at  which  their  reformation  aimed,  the  Puritans  derived 
their  name  and  characteristics. 

When  life  was  restored  to  the  Reformation  by  the 
accession  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  those  exiles  returned  to 
England,  and  brought  with  them  a  rooted  animosity 
to  the  English  hierarchy,  and  a  settled  determination 
not  to  conform  to  the  service,  customs,  and  discipline 
of  the  English  Church.  The  persecutions  they  and 
their  proselytes  subsequently  suffered,  during  the  reigns 
of  Elizabeth  and  James  the  First,  fixed  in  the  minds 
of  their  descendants  an  utter  detestation  of  the  Eng- 
lish hierarchy,  Church  service  and  discipline,  and  oc- 
casioned the  emigration  to  New  England.  Though 
compelled  by  circumstances  sometimes  to  conceal,  and 
sometimes  to  deny,  this  antipathy,  it  was,  in  truth,  one 
of  the  master  passions  in  the  breasts  of  those  early 
emigrants,  and  constitutes  a  principal  clue  to  their 
language,  conduct,  policy,  and  laws. 

*  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  Vol.  I.  chap.  iii.  p.  72. 


352  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

/> 

CHAPTER        The  form  of  government  they  adopted  in  Massa- 
chusetts  had  for  its  object  the  supremacy  of  the  Con- 


IO"EPUCO-    gregational  church,  and  the  exclusion  of  the  Episcopal 
JSewEng-    and  all  other  sects  from  political  power  and  influence. 

land.  .  .,•,,/> 

During  the  thirty  years  m  which  the  hrst  emigrants 
conducted  the  affairs  of  Massachusetts,  the  civil  wars 
which  harassed  'the  parent  state,  and  the  coincidence 
in  religious  and  political  views  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
English  Commonwealth  and  the  leaders  of  the  New 
England  colony,  gave  this  antipathy  to  Episcopacy  a 
fixed  root  among  the  people  of  New  England  ;  the 
fibres  of  which  were  spread  throughout  the  whole 
settlement.  The  language  and  writings  of  the  early 
divines  were  carefully  calculated  to  keep  alive  these 
passions,  and  to  inspire  a  universal  dread  of  the  Eng- 
lish church  and  hierarchy.) 

A  generation  of  men,  for  the  most  part  born  on  the 
soil  of  New  England,  and  educated  under  the  preju- 
dices and  antipathies  of  the  first  emigrants,  began  to 
take  a  lead  in  the  concerns  of  the  colony,  about  the 
time  of  the  restoration  of  the  English  monarchy  under 
Charles  the  Second.  At  this  period  the  English  male- 
contents  studiously  endeavoured  to  establish  at  home, 
and  to  propagate  through  the  English  colonies,  an 
opinion  that  the  English  monarch  was  a  Papist  at 
heart,  and  that  his  policy  had  for  its  object  the  recon- 
cilement of  England  to  the  See  of  Rome.  The  ap- 
prehensions thus  excited  were  strengthened  by  the 
avowed  determination  of  the  government  of  the  parent 
state  to  change  the  principles  of  their  charter,  and  with 
it  the  foundation  of  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rights 
and  privileges. 

The  disadvantageous  light  in  which  professed  Epis- 
copalians were  thus  viewed,  and  the  real  inconven- 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UiNIVERSITY.  353 

iences  they    suffered,    prevented   their    erection  of  a  CHAPTER 

XVII 

church,  or  any   public  observance  of   their    forms  of  '. — 

worship,  for  the  first  fifty  years  after  the  settlement 
of  Massachusetts ;  so  that  in  1686  a  majority  of  its 
inhabitants  had  never  seen  an  assembly  in  which  re- 
ligious service  was  performed  according  to  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England.  * 

Edward  Randolph,  who,  during  the  reign  of  Charles 
the  Second,  was  the  most  active  emissary  of  the  crown, 
suggested,  as  early  as  1682,  the  plan  of  propagating  . 
Episcopacy  in  New  England,  by  means  of  funds  de- 
rived from  the  parent  state.  In  letters  to  Sancroft, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  after  stating  that  the  Epis- 
copalians in  Massachusetts  were  compelled  to  pay 
rates  for  the  support  of  the  Congregational  clergy, 
and  also  to  maintain  their  own  ministers  by  contribu- 
tion, Randolph  proposed,  "  that  able  ministers  might 
be  appointed  to  perform  the  offices  of  the  Church  with 
us,  and  that  for  their  maintenance  a  part  of  the  money 
sent  over  hither  and  pretended  to  be  expended  amongst 
the  Indians  should  be  ordered  to  go  towards  that 
charge."^ 

A  more  gross  perversion  of  funds  can  scarcely  be 
imagined,  than  that  included  in  the  proposition  of 
Randolph.  -  It  was,  however,  in  unison  with  the  vio- 
lence of  his  character,  and  the  utter  disregard  of 
private  rights  and  public  morals,  which  characterized 
the  reigns  of  Charles  the  Second  and  his  successor, 
James. 

The  funds  which  Randolph  thus  proposed  to  seize 
and  devote  to  the  establishment  of  the  Episcopal 


*  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  chap.  iii.  p.  318.  Edit.  1785. 
t  See  Hutch.  State  Papers,  p.  531. 

VOL.  i.  45 


354  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  Church   in  New  England  were  the    product  of  sub- 

XVII. 

-  scriptions  collected  among  private  individuals  for  the 
purpose  of  instructing  the  heathen  natives,  and  were 
limited  to  that  object  by  the  constitution  of  the 
Society  intrusted  with  their  management  and  distri- 
bution. 
First  so-  The  first  of  these  societies  was  incorporated  in 

ciety  for  <  f  f 

propagating  1649,   by  the  English  Parliament,  in  the  time  of  the 

the  Gospel  J 

in  New       Commonwealth.    It  was  denominated  "  The  President 

England. 

and  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New 
England."  It  was  authorized  to  collect  moneys  and 
receive  donations,  and  transmit  them  to  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies,  by  them  to  be  dis- 
posed of  so  as  "  shall  best  and  principally  conduce  to 
the  preaching  and  propagating  of  the  Gospel  among 
the  natives,  and  for  maintenance  of  schools  and  nur- 
series of  learning  for  the  education  of  the  children  of 
the  natives."* 

On  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  in  1660, 
this  Society,  having  derived  its  existence  from  the 
Commonwealth,  was  deemed  dead  in  law,  and  at- 
tempts were  made  to  seize  upon  their  funds  and  con- 
vert them  to  private  use. 

second  so-       Through  the  agency  of  Robert  Boyle,  Sir  Henry 
propagating  Ashurst,   and  other  friends  of  the  settlement,  a  new 

the  Gospel 

Company  was  formed,  denominated  "  The  Company 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New  England, 
and  Parts  adjacent,  in  America."  By  this  charter  the 
objects  of  this  Society  and  the  application  of  its  funds 
were  as  strictly  limited,  as  those  of  the  former,  "  to 
the  civilizing,  teaching,  and  instructing  the  heathen 
natives  and  their  children,  in  religion,  morality,  and 

*  Hazard's  State  Papers,  Vol.  I.  p.  635,  where  this  charter  is  given 
at  large. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  355 

the    English    tongue,    and    in    other  liberal    arts  and    CHAPTER 

M  *  XVI1- 

sciences.  • 

There  is  no  evidence,  that  the  proposal  of  Randolph 
to  pervert  these  funds  received  at  the  time  any  en- 
couragement ;  but  it  appears  from  one  of  his  letters 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  that  he  renewed 
those  suggestions  in  1686,  and  that  Sancroft  had  been 
so  far  influenced  by  them,  as  to  express  his  desire, 
that  "  the  moneys  in  the  hands  of  the  Corporation 
for  evangelizing  the  Indians  should  be  inquired  after, 
and  applied  to  build  a  church  for  Episcopal  worship, 
and  a  free  school,  that  our  youth  may  be  no  longer 
poisoned  by  the  seditious  principles  of  New  Eng- 
land."! 

Either  this  Corporation  was  found  to  be  unman-  First  EPis- 

copal  so* 

aeeable,  or  the   scheme  itself  was  deemed  too  great  cietyin 

°.  Boston. 

an  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  corporate  property ;  since 
it  does  not  appear,  that  the  proposed  perversion  of 
the  funds  was  ever  effected.  Randolph  saw  plainly, 
that  the  influence  of  the  English  crown  could  never 
become  predominant  in  the  colony  unless  in  connexion 
with  the  English  hierarchy.  Bold,  active,  and  in- 
telligent, he  directed  all  his  efforts  to  this  object,  and 
incessantly  urged  its  importance  upon  the  Lords  of 
the  Council  and  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  t  He 
was  the  chief  founder  of  the  first  Episcopal  society 
in  New  England  ;  and  in  June,  1686,  he  associated 
himself  with  Ratcliffe,  and  nine  other  individuals,  for 
that  purpose.  Although  they  were  few  in  number,  poor 


*  Life  of  Robert  Boyle,  fol.  edit.  London,  1744,  p.  98,  where  this 
charter  is  given  at  large.  —  Neal's  Hist,  of  New  England,  Vol.  I. 
p.  260. 

t  Hutch.  State  Papers,  p.  551. 

J  Greenwood's  History  of  King's  Chapel,  p.  16. 


356  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  in  revenue  and  resources,  and  discountenanced  by  all 
. '—  the  predominating  colonial  powers,  yet  their  proceed- 
ings indicate  a  spirit  sufficiently  lofty  and  determined. 
Excluding  from  their  records  all  recognition  of  the 
authorities  of  Massachusetts,  not  even  referring  to  the 
colony  by  name,  they  laid  hold  of  the  horns  of  the 
transatlantic  altar,  placed  their  society  under  the 
shadow  of  the  sceptre  of  the  monarch,  and  denomi- 
nated themselves  "  the  members  of  the  Church  of 
England  .by  law  established,  under  the  gracious  in- 
fluences of  the  most  illustrious  Prince,  our  sovereign 
Lord,  James  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of 
the  Faith,  &c.,  Anno  Domini,  1686,  and  in  the  second 
year  of  his  said  Majesty's  reign,  at  Boston,  within 
his  said  Majesty's  territory  and  dominion  of  New 
England,  in  America."  * 

Among  their  acts  at  this  first  meeting  were  an 
humble  address  to  his  Majesty,  and  letters  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  London, 
imploring  their  favor.  Edward  Randolph  was  also 
appointed  chairman  of  a  committee* "  to  wait  on  the 
President  and  Council  about  our  Church  affairs."  In 
the  July  ensuing  they  made  application  to  the  chief 
authorities  of  Massachusetts,  for  a  brief  to  pass 
through  the  whole  of  New  England,  to  collect  and 
receive  "  voluntary  donations  towards  the  building  of 
an  Episcopal  church  in  Boston,  to  be  erected  for  the 
service  of  God,  and  for  the  use  of  the  Church  of 
England  by  law  established." 

The  administration  of  the  colony  was,  at  that  time, 
in  the  hands  of  Dudley  as  President,  and  the  Council, 

*  Greenwood's  History  of  King's  Chapel,  p.  22. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  357 

temporarily    established    by  a  commission  from  King   CHAPTER 

James.     The  application,  however  repugnant  to  their  

prejudices,  was  too  reasonable  to  be  denied.  The 
"  brief "  was  granted,  and  also  a  room  in  the  Town 
House,  where  public  worship  was  first  commenced  in 
the  capital  of  New  England,  under  a  license  from  the 
colonial  authority,  according  to  Episcopalian  forms. 
Andros,  the  royal  Governor,  on  his  arrival  in  1686,*  violent 

j  •         i  i       •          i        r  f  •        proceed- 

determmed  to  obtain,  by  favor  or  force,  a  more  suit-  mgs  of  An- 
dros. 
able  and  commodious  place  for  the  Episcopal  service. 

Sancroft,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  had  suggested, 
that  one  of  the  Congregational  meetinghouses  might 
be  obtained  for  Episcopalian  worship  by  way  of 
compromise  with  the  clergy  of  that  sect,  in  exchange 
for  liberty  of  conscience.  In  accordance  with  this 
suggestion,  Andros,  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  in  a 
conference .  with  three  Congregational  clergymen  of 
the  place,  intimated,  that  one  church  might  admit 
two  assemblies,  and  thus  the  Episcopal  service  be 
accommodated  without  interfering  with  the  Congre- 
gational. This  proposition  was,  in  the  opinion  of 
these  divines,  equivalent  to  an  assent  to  the  desecra- 
tion of  the  church  which  should  accede  to  it ;  and 
they  answered  with  one  voice,  that  they  "  could  not 
consent,  that  any  of  their  meetinghouses  should  be 
used  for  Common  Prayer  worship."  Being  desired 
to  permit  their  bell  to  be  tolled  at  nine  o'clock  on 
Wednesdays  and  Fridays  for  the  Episcopal  meeting 
for  prayers,  they  replied,  that.  "  they  could  in  no  wise 
assent,  it  intrenching  on  their  liberty  of  conscience. "f 
Andros  waited  until  the  March  following,  in  the 

*  Hutch.  State   Papers,  p.  550.  —  Greenwood's  History  of  King's 
Chapel,  p.  37.  —  Sewall's  Diary, 
t  Hutch.  State  Papers,  p.  553. 


358  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER    hope   of  effecting   his  object    by    negotiation.     Being 

XVIf 

!—  disappointed   in    this  expectation,   he  commanded   on 
Good  Friday  the    doors  of  the  South  Church   to  be 


church  for  opened,  and  the  bell  to  be  rung  for  the  Church  of 
worship.  England  service  ;  which  continued  to  be  performed 
there  during  the  whole  period  of  his  administration. 
This  violent  invasion  of  the  rights  of  private  property, 
and  open  defiance  of  the  religious  prejudices  of 
the  colony,  deepened  the  hereditar}'  fear  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  The  alarm  was  strengthened  by  the 
well-founded  apprehension,  that  the  English  monarch 
designed  to  seize  on  the  seminaries  of  education.* 
These  were  probably  among  the  causes  of  the  little 
civility  paid  to  Ratcliffe,  the  Episcopalian  clergyman, 
when,  by  the  authority  of  Andros,  he  took  his  seat 
in  the  pulpit,  and  attended  the  services  on  Com- 
mencement day.f 

The  antipathy  of  the  clergy  to  the  Episcopal  church 
was  shared  by  the  laymen  of  the  Congregational  per- 
suasion. When,  in  1688,  the  same  Ratcliffe,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  an  Episcopal  church,  applied  to 
Judge  Sewall  for  the  purchase  of  an  estate  on  "  Cot  - 
ton  Hill  "  in  Boston,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Rev- 
John  Cotton,  Sewall  replied,  that  "  he  would  not  put 
Mr.  Cotton's  land  to  such  a  use,  nor  be  concerned  in 
setting  up  that,  which  the  people  of  New  England 
came  over  to  avoid."  In  the  same  spirit,  more  than 
thirty  years  afterwards,  when  Governor  Shute  pro- 
posed to  adjourn  the  Court  on  account  of  Christmas, 
Judge  Sewall,  being  one  of  the  Council,  told  the 
Governor,  that  "  the  Dissenters  had  come  a  great  way 
for  their  liberties,  and  now  the  Church  had  theirs,  yet 

*  See  above,  p.  29.  f  See  above,  p.  58. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  359 

they  would  not  be  contented  except  they  might  tread   CHAPTER 
all  others  down."  *  — 

After  the  deposition  of  Andros  by  a  popular  insur- 
rection, in  1688,  a  small  wooden  building  was  erected 
on  the  site  of  the  present  King's  Chapel,  in  Bos- 
ton, with  funds  gradually  collected  from  voluntary  do- 
nations, and  the  service  of  the  Episcopal  church  was 
henceforth  tolerated  but  not  encouraged.  When  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  the  Stuarts  terminated,  by  the  acces- 
sion of  William  arid  Mary,  Episcopacy  was  viewed 
with  a  subdued  animosity,  but  it  never  obtained  either 
the  confidence  or  favor  of  the  Congregational  church. 

From  this  time  the  patronage  of  the  crown  and 
hierarchy  was  extended  to  the  infant  Episcopal  church 
in  New  England.  Aware  that  it  was  a  ready  path  to 
royal  favor,  Joseph  Dudley,  when  he  came  as  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Province,  in  1702,  joined  himself  to  that 
Society,  and  with  Lieutenant-Governor  Tailer  became 
one  of  its  active  vestrymen.; 

Episcopacy,  having  taken  such  strong  hold  of  the 
soil  of  New  England,  wanted  nothing  to  secure  its 
permanency  and  expansion,  except  pecuniary  funds 
for  its  support  and  encouragement.  These  were  soon 
supplied  by  an  association,  denominated  the  "  Society 
for  propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  The 
incorporation  of  this  Society  constitutes  an  era  in  the 
progress  of  Episcopacy  in  New  England,  and  was 
the  precursor  and  cause  of  that  controversy,  which 
connects  the  history  of  the  Episcopal  church  with 
that  of  Harvard  University. 

The  funds  of  the  "  Company  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  New  England  and  Parts  adjacent 

*  Sewall's  Diary. 


360  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   in  America,"  incorporated  in  1660,  had  fallen  under 

_J the    agency   of  Presbyterians    or    Congregationalists, 

and  of  men  attached  to  the  dissenting  interests.* 

It  became,  therefore,  apparent  to  Tillotson,  who 
succeeded  Sancroft  in  the  See  of  Canterbury,  that 
the  attempt  to  divert  the  funds  of  that  Society  to  the 
establishing  Episcopacy  in  the  settled  parts  of  North 
America,  and  especially  in  New  England,  could  not 
be  carried  into  effect.  The  plan  recommended  by 
Randolph,  and  acceded  to  by  Sancroft,  was  accord- 
ingly abandoned  as  impracticable. 

Episcopal         These    circumstances    led    to   the   formation   of    a 
propagating  Society  under  Episcopal  influences,    which  was  ulti- 

thc  Gospel  J 

in  Foreign  mately  incorporated  by  William  the  Third,  in  1701, 
and  denominated  "  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  The  chief 
dignitaries  of  the  English  hierarchy  were  constituted 
members,  and  all  the  individuals  named  in  the  act 
were  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion.  In  the  enumer- 
ation of  the  objects  of  that  Society  all  reference 
to  the  instruction  of  the  heathen  or  of  the  Indian 
nations  was  carefully  avoided.  And  to  the  end  that 
there  might  arise  no  embarrassment  in  the  application 
of  its  funds,  those  objects  were  declared  to  be  "  to 
instruct  our  loving  subjects  in  our  plantations,  in  the 
principles  of  true  religion,"  "  to  supply  them  with  the 
administration  of  God's  word  and  sacraments,"  and 
"  to  provide  a  sufficient  maintenance  for  an  orthodox 
clergy,  the  provision  for  ministers  being  in  some  of 
those  plantations  very  mean,  and  in  others  wholly 
wanting,  "f 

*  Hutch.  State  Papers,  pp.  552. 

t  See  the  act  given  at  large  in  Dr.  Humphrey's  "  Historical  Ac- 
count of  the  incorporated  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts,"  p.  xv. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  361 

Considering  the  phraseology   of   this    act   and    the    CHAPTER 

tendency   of  all  religious   sects   to  restrict   the  term — 

"  true  religion  "  to  their  own  forms  of  worship,  doc- 
trines, and  observances,  the  New  England  clergy  had 
no  doubt  that  the  real  purpose  of  this  Society  was  the 
establishment  and  extension  of  Episcopacy  in  the  colo- 
nies. It  became,  therefore,  an  object  of  their  extreme 
jealousy  and  animosity. 

The    proceedings   of  this  Society  did  not  tend  to  Proceed- 
calm  these  apprehensions.     Instead  of  applying  their  society  for 

r        i  ,.,i..  ,  thePropa- 

lunds  to  those  colonial  districts  where  there  was  no  gationof 

•    ft         '  t    ?^e  Gospel 

religious  instruction,  their  efforts  were  chiefly  directed  i«  Foreign 

ralTS. 

to  the  ancient  towns  of  New  England,  where  only  a 
few  Episcopalians  existed.  Here  they  established 
Episcopal  ministers,  with  salaries  greater  and  better 
paid  than  those  of  a  majority  of  the  Congregational 
clergy.*  At  Stratford  in  Connecticut,  at  Braintree 
and  Marblehead  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  other  prin- 
cipal towns,  their  missionaries  were  stationed,  and 
their  labors  and  resources  apparently  applied,  not  to 
furnish  destitute  places  with  Christian  ministers,  but 
to  make  converts  from  Congregationalism  to  Episco- 
pacy ;  so  that  at  the  end  of  fifty  years  from  the  in- 
corporation of  this  Society  it  was  estimated,  that  the 
Society  had  "  laid  out  one  hundred  thousand  pounds 
sterling  under  the  notion  of  propagating  the  Gospel 
in  America,"  of  which  "  twenty  thousand  pounds  had 
been  expended  in  supporting  Episcopacy  in  the  single 
town  of  Stratford  in  Connecticut,  f  " 

These    proceedings    early    excited    animadversion 
among  the  sects  into  which  the  Congregational  church 

*  Turell's  Life  of  Colman,  p.  124. 

f  Hobart's  "  Address  to  the  Members  of  the  Episcopalian  Persua- 
sion in  New  England,"  pp.  53,  129-  134. 

VOL.    I.  46 


362  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   began    to    be    divided.     The    Rev.   Mr.   Colman,   al- 

—  though     he    was    himself    obnoxious   to    the    stricter 

sect  of  Congregationalists  for  so  far  conforming  to 
the  practice  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  to  use 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  read  the  Scriptures  in  public 
worship,  and  for  enlarging  the  freedom  of  coming  to 
the  sacrament,  was  also  alarmed  and  indignant  at 
what  he  deemed  an  abuse  and  manifest  perversion 
Mr.  coi-  of  the  funds  of  the  Society.  In  November,  1712,  he 
tuDean  er  addressed  a  letter  on  the  subject  to  White  Kennett, 
then  Dean,  afterwards  Bishop,  of  Peterborough.  Col- 
man was,  at  that  time,  one  of  the  Corporation  of 
Harvard  College,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  impressing 
Dean  Kennett  with  his  impartiality  and  freedom  from 
prejudice,  he  states,  that,  while  in  England,  he  had 
been  strengthened  "  in  the  generous  principles  of  an 
enlarged  catholic  spirit,  cherished  in  me  by  my  tutor, 
Mr.  Leverett,  now  President  of  Harvard  College  ; 
and,  if  I  am  able  to  judge,"  he  adds,  "  no  place  of 
education  can  well  boast  a  more  free  air  than  our 
little  College  may."  *  After  acknowledging  the  pro- 
ject of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  "  and 
settlements  void  of  the  form  of  religion,"  to  be  a  noble 
charity,  he  complained,  that  its  funds  had  been  per- 
verted to  encourage  discontent,  and  to  create  divisions, 
in  towns  where  the  Gospel  was  already  preached  and 
the  sacraments  administered,  and,  instead  of  spread 
ing,  had  actually  obstructed,  the  success  of  the  Gos 
pel.  By  the  hope  of  a  better  salary  for  the  ministei, 
out  of  the  funds  of  the  Society,  than  the  Congrega- 
tionalists gave,  and  by  the  expectation  of  a  lighter 
church  rate  for  the  parishioner,  the  Church  of  Eng- 

*  Turell's  Life  of  Colman,  pp.  123,  125. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  363 


land   had  been    planted    under   the    auspices  of  that   CHAPTER 

XVII 

Society,   and  the   Congregational  churches  had  been  

either  divided  or  embarrassed. 

In  reply,  Dean  Kennett  states,  that,  if  abuses  had  Dean  Ken- 
occurred,  the  Society  had  been  imposed  upon,  and  sept,  is, ' 
their  proceedings  in  such  cases  had  been  the  result 
of  mistake.  To  obviate  the  effects  of  future  misin- 
formation, he  intimates  the  design  of  some  members 
of  the  hierarchy  to  settle  bishops  in  the  Province ; 
a  remedy,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congregational 
clergy,  somewhat  worse  than  the  disease.  In  this 
letter,  however,  Kennett  unequivocally  acknowledges, 
that  the  general  aim  of  the  Society  was,  "  to  plant 
Christianity  according  to  the  Church  of  England," 
and  that,  not  only  in  places  where  there  was  no  settled 
ministry,  but  also  in  those  where  there  was  a  settled 
ministry,*  "  if  numbers  were  there,  who  could  not  in 
conscience  conform  to  the  ways  of  worship  different 
from  the  English  established  Church."  To  establish 
schools  and  universities,  under  the  influence  of  bishops 
appointed  by  the  English  hierarchy,  was  avowed  to 
be  a  project  connected  with  the  general  plan  of  ap- 
pointing bishops  in  New  England.  The  design  rela- 
tive to  the  seminaries  of  education  excited  peculiar 
alarm  in  the  Congregational  church,  as  it  was  ob- 
viously directed  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  the 
Episcopal  church  by  influencing  the  rising  generation 
to  quit  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 

Dean  Kennett,  in  another  letter  to  Mr.  Colman, 
dated  on  the  28th  of  July,  1716,f  admits  that  these 
designs  were  among  the  known  and  unquestionable 
objects  of  the  Society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts. 

*  Turell's  Life  of  Colman,  p.  127.  f  Ibid.,  130. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        During  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  operations  of 

! this    Society    the    gradual    increase     of    Episcopacy 

was    perceptible,    but   no    very   distinguished  convert 
had   as  yet  been  made  from  the  ranks  of  the   Con- 
gregational  clergy.     In  September,    1722,    an    event 
occurred     in     Connecticut,    equally    unexpected    and 
Mr.  cut-      alarming.      Seven   clergymen   of  the  Congregational 
version  to    order,    at   the    head  of   whom  was  Timothy   Cutler, 

Kpisco-  ' 

Pacy-  Rector  of  Yale  College,  openly  avowed,  before  the 
trustees  of  that  seminary,  their  doubts  concerning 
the  validity  of  Presbyterian,  and  their  belief  in  the 
validity  of  Episcopalian  ordination.*  This  event  shook 
Congregationalism  throughout  New  England  like  an 
earthquake,  and  filled  all  its  friends  with  terror  and  ap- 
prehension. The  effect  of  the  direct  operations  of  the 
"  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts  "  was  seen  and  recognised  in  these  conversions. 
They  had  occurred  in  Stratford,  or  its  vicinity ;  a 
place  in  which  the  funds  of  the  Society  had  been 
most  lavishly  expended ;  and  the  fact,  that  the  head  of 
one  of  the  most  cherished  seminaries  of  learning  in 
New  England  had  yielded  to  its  influence,  was  indic- 
ative of  its  power  and  ominous  of  Episcopal  success. 
Cutler  had  been  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1701,  been  settled  over  the  Congregational  society  in 
Stratford,f  Connecticut,  in  1709,  and  made  Rector  of 
Yale  College  in  1719.  In  consequence  of  his  avowed 
conversion  to  Episcopacy,  he  was  "  excused  from  all 
further  service  "  by  the  trustees  of  Yale  College ;  and 
he  immediately  sailed  for  England,  where  honors  and 

*  Eliot's  Biog.,  art.  Cutler ,  Timothy •.  —  Dr.  Humphreys'  "  Historical 
Account  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,"  p.  339. 

f  Allen's  American  Biography. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  365 


reward  awaited  him.  In  the  following  January  (1723),  CHAPTER 

xvn 

being  in  London,  he  was  invited  by  the  honest  — 
and  zealous  Hollis  to  a  conference,  in  the  hope  of 
converting  him  from  Episcopalianism.  To  this  invita- 
tion Cutler  acceded.  The  conference,  however,  never 
took  place.  "  I  am  no  doubter,"  said  Cutler  to  Hollis, 
"  I  am  resolved.*  I  hope  to  be  speedily  ordained. 
I  may  with  as  much  reason  hope  to  bring  you  over  to 
me,  as  you  can  hope  to  bring  me  over  to  you.  I 
have  a  wife  and  seven  children,  am  not  yet  forty 
years  old.  I  have  lost  all  my  old  friends.  I  am 
turned  out  of  all.  And  if  I  should  do  any  thing  now 
that  looked  like  doubting,  it  were  the  way  to  lose 
my  new  friends."  "  I  was  never  in  judgment  heartily 
with  the  Dissenters,  but  bore  it  patiently  until  a  favor- 
able opportunity  offered.  This  has  opened  at  Boston, 
and  I  now  declare  publicly  what  I  before  believed 
privately."  "  After  such  positive  barring  cautions,  I 
thought,"  says  Hollis,  "  the  proposed  conference  would 
be  of  little  service." 

Cutler  was  received  with  great  distinction  by  the  Mr.  Cut- 
dignitaries  of  the   Church,  episcopally  ordained,   and  tionin 

•c    j    t.  r   ^  •       A-    •    •        i.  En&!and- 

gratified  by  a  degree  or  Doctor  in  Divinity  both  at 
Oxford  and  Cambridge.  In  the  mean  time  a  society 
was  formed  for  him  in  Boston,  and  he  returned  to 
America  under  an  allowance,  as  missionary,  of  sixty 
pounds  sterling  per  annum. 

Such  was  the  general  state  of  feeling  in  New  Eng- 
land relative  to  the  Episcopalian  power  and  policy 
when  Dr.  Cutler  arrived  in  Massachusetts,  in  1724. 
In  concurrence  with  Mr.  Myles,  the  Rector  of  King's 
Chapel,  he  soon  commenced  prosecuting  a  claim  on 

"»  Hollis's  letter  to  Colman,  January  14th,  1723. 


366  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  their  part  to  be  admitted  of  right,  as  ministers  of  the 
'  Episcopal  Church  in  Boston,  to  the  board  of  Over- 
cWouft  seers  of  the  College.  This  claim  was  deemed  insep- 
boardof  °  arably  connected  with  the  prospects  of  Episcopacy  in 
New  England,  and  as  such  received  the  support  of  all 
its  powers.  As  early  as  August,  1725,  the  vestry  of 
King's  Chapel  authorized  the  churchwardens  of  that 
society  "  to  sign  a  memorial  to  the  General  Court,  in 
relation  to  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England, 
in  Boston,  being  Overseers  of  the  College  in  Cam- 
bridge." And  at  a  subsequent  meeting  these  officers 
were  authorized  to  expend  "out  of  the  contingent 
charges  of  the  church,  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting 
to  effect  the  memorial  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  and 
Mr.  Myles,  and  of  maintaining  their  right  to  a  seat  at 
the  Overseers'  board."*  The  attempt  was  sufficient- 
ly bold,  considering  that  the  right  to  such  seat  was 
restricted  by  the  charter  of  the  College  to  "  teach- 
ing elders,"  and  that  this  term  was  exclusively  of  Dis- 
senting, if  not  Congregational,  origin  and  use,  and 
neither  authorized  nor  acknowledged  by  the  Church 
of  England.  The  auspices  under  which  the  College 
had  been  established  and  hitherto  conducted,  and  the 
opinions  and  influences  predominating  among  the 
Overseers  and  in  the  General  Court,  rendered  suc- 
cess in  this  claim  improbable,  if  not  hopeless.  After 
Dr.  Cutler's  return  from  England,  he  was  regarded  in 
Massachusetts  in  the  light  of  a  pensioner  on  the  Eng- 
lish hierarchy ;  and  this  attempt  was  naturally  deemed 
to  be  made  in  coincidence  with  their  views,  and  to 
be  an  evidence  of  a  design  to  introduce  Episcopalian 
influences  on  an  equality  with  Congregational,  into 
the  great  seminary  of  learning  in  the  Province. 

*  See  Records  of  King's  Chapel,  of  this  date. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  367 

This  claim  derived  some  color  from  the  fact,  that   CHAPTER 

XVII. 

Mr.  Harris,  who  had  been  sent  out  in  1709,  by  the  — 
Bishop  of  London,  as  Assistant  to  Mr.  Myles,  the  thisciaim.r 
Rector  of  King's  Chapel,  had  been  summoned  about 
the  year  1720,  and  permitted  to  take  his  seat  at  the 
board  of  Overseers,  as  appears  by  their  records,  several 
times  during  the  years  1720,  1721,  and  1722.  It 
does  not  appear,  that  either  Cutler  or  Myles  ever  took 
a  seat  at  that  board,  or  attempted  to  do  it,  although 
in  their  memorial  it  is  asserted  that  they  had  been 
summoned  to  attend.  The  two  facts,  that  Harris  had 
been  permitted  to  take  a  seat,  and  that  Cutler  and 
Myles  had  been  summoned  to  attend,  are  not  ac- 
counted for  by  the  records  of  the  College,  or  the 
history  of  that  period.  It  is  probable,  that  under  the 
influence  of  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  Province,  who  worshipped  with  Episcopalians, 
and  were,  ex  officio,  at  the  head  of  the  Overseers, 
Harris  had  been  summoned  and  admitted  without 
question  to  take  a  seat  at  the  board.  But,  with  the 
apprehensions  consequent  upon  the  "  apostasy "  of 
Cutler  from  Congregationalism,  a  rigid  inquiry  into 
this  right  was  determined  upon,  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  College  from  Episcopalian  influences. 
The  attempt  of  Cutler  and  Myles  thus  to  intro- 
duce themselves  into  the  board  excited  a  sensation 
throughout  the  Province  somewhat  proportionate  to 
the  greatness  of  the  anticipated  consequences.  The 
defection  of  Cutler  from  Congregationalism  was  open- 
ly avowed  by  him  at  New  Haven,  in  September, 
1722,  and  in  December  of  that  year  is  the  last 
record  of  the  presence  of  Harris  at  the  board  of 
Overseers.  He  was,  probably,  from  that  time  omit- 
ted to  be  summoned,  in  conformity  with  the  policy 


368  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  of  excluding  Episcopalians,  then  resolved  upon.      Al- 

XVII 

- —  though  it  appears  by  the  records  of  King's  Chapel, 
that,  as  early  as  August,  1725,  a  memorial  had  been 
presented  either  to  the  General  Court  or  to  the 
board  of  Overseers,  yet  the  records  of  neither  take 
any  notice  of  the  presentation  of  any  such  me- 
morial antecedent  to  the  18th  of  May,  1727.  On 
that  day  the  records  of  the  Overseers  state,  that 
His  claim  "  His  Honor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  informing  the 
the  over-  board,  that  application  had  been  made  to  him  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Cutler,  that  he  might  be  notified  to  be 
present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers,  after  a 
debate  had  thereon,  the  question  was  put,  whether 
he,  the  said  Dr.  Cutler,  be  notified  accordingly,  and 
it  passed  in  the  negative  ;  the  board  apprehending 
that  he  is  not  entitled  thereunto."  On  the  25th  of 
May  following,  a  copy  of  the  above  vote  was  ordered 
to  be  delivered  to  Dr.  Cutler,  and  at  a  meeting  on  the 
ensuing  8th  of  June,  an  adjournment  took  place  to 
that  day  sevennight ;  and  the  clerk  was  ordered  "  to 
make  Dr.  Cutler  acquainted  with  the  time  and  place 
of  this  adjournment."  Accordingly,  on  that  day,  the 
records  of  the  Overseers  state,  that,  "  a  motion  being- 
made  to  this  board  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  Cutler, 
in  writing  as  follows,  viz.  Whether  he  was  not  entitled 
to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers  of  Har- 
vard College,  when  he  was  notified  by  their  clerk  to 
be  present  at  one  of  said  meetings,  nor  at  any  time 
since  he  has  been  an  Episcopal  minister  of  the  town 
of  Boston,  or  whether  he  has  forfeited  that  title  since, 
and  by  what  means  ?  —  the  Overseers  having  taken 
said  motion  into  their  consideration,  and  maturely  con- 
sidered their  constitution,  are  of  opinion,  that  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  has  not,  nor  ever  had,  by  the  said 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  369 


XVII. 


constitution,    a    right    to  sit  as  Overseer  of   Harvard   CHAPTER 
College. 

"  To  which  vote  the  Honorable  William  Tailer, 
Esquire,  entered  his  dissent." 

A  copy  of  the  above  vote  was  ordered  to  be  de- 
livered to  Mr.  Cutler. 

On  the  same  day  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Myles 
presented  his  desire  in  writing  to  the  Overseers,  that 
he  might  be  notified  as  formerly  to  sit  at  the  meetings 
of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  and,  if  that  be 
denied,  he  humbly  craved  of  the  honorable  board  that 
he  might  be  favored  with  the  reasons  of  it."  Upon 
which  a  vote  was  passed  by  the  Overseers  similar 
to  that  passed  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Cutler. 

Immediately  on  this  rejection  of  their  respective 
applications  by  the  board  of  Overseers,  Dr.  Cutler 
and  Mr.  Myles  memorialized  the  General  Court, 
stating  the  terms  of  the  act  of  1642,  the  general 
grounds  of  their  application  to  the  Overseers,  and  the 
rejection  of  their  petition  ;  and  asking  redress  from 
the  legislature  for  the  wrongs  they  have  sustained,  in 
being  "  excluded,  as  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, from  the  inspection  and  ordering  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege." They  aver  that  "  the  orthodoxy  of  that  church 
is  questioned  by  no  sound  Protestant,"  that  "  its  mem- 
bers in  this  government  bear  an  equal  proportion  in 
all  public  charges  to  the  support  of  said  College,"  that 
"  its  ministers  are  equally  with  any  others  qualified 
and  disposed  to  promote  the  interests  of  religion, 
good  literature,  and  good  manners,"  and  that,  by  their 
ordination  and  induction  into  their  respective  churches 
of  the  town  of  Boston,  they  are  fairly  included  within 
the  denomination  of  "  teaching  elders,"  and  as  such 

VOL.  i.  47 


370  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  entitled  to  a  seat  at  the  board  of  Overseers  of  Har- 

xvir.  j    ,-,   .  ,          * 

__  vard  College. 


^  This  memorial  of  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles  was 
E^scopai'6  supported  by  a  contemporaneous  petition,  signed  by 
churches.  a^out  seventy  persons,  embracing  all  the  principal 
members  of  the  several  Episcopal  churches  in  Boston 
and  the  vicinity.  These  petitioners  assert,  that  "  the 
ministers  of  the  Church  of  England  in  Boston  have 
been,  by  force  of  the  first  constitution  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, deemed  and  taken  to  be  Overseers  of  the  College, 
and  from  time  to  time  ever  since  have  assembled  and 
met  together,  and  ordered  and  disposed  the  affairs  of 
said  College  as  the  Overseers  ;  "  that  within  the  last 
three  years  they  have  been  "  neglected  and  not  called 
to  their  meetings  "  ;  and  that,  on  application  made  by 
Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles,  two  of  the  ministers  of 
the  Church  of  England,  to  the  Overseers,  they  had 
"  voted,  declared,  and  recorded  their  opinion,  that  the 
said  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles  have  not,  nor  ever  had, 
by  the  constitution  of  Harvard  College,  a  right  to  sit  as 
Overseers."  The  petitioners  then  proceed  to  state,  that 
"  they  consider  that  College  as  the  common  nursery 
of  piety  and  learning  to  New  England  in  general,  as 
well  to  those  that  are  of  the  order  of  the  Church  of 
England  as  to  them  that  are  of  the  order  of  the 
churches  of  New  England  ;  that  it  is  the  common 
interest  of  both  to  support  it,  and  a  blessing  to  both 
when  it  flourisheth  ;  and  therefore  they  apprehend  it  is 
a  pity  those  different  orders  should  be  made  different 
parties,  not  only  in  the  churches  where  they  are  dif- 
ferent, but  in  the  College,  where  they  are  entirely 
one  ;  which  will  tend  to  discourage  those  of  the  order 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXI. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  371 

of  the  Church  of  England  from  doing  those  services  to   CHAPTER 

the  College,  or  receiving  that  benefit  from  it,  as  other-  . ll_ 

wise  they  might ;  "  that  it  is  impossible  to  imagine 
the  admission  of  these  two  gentlemen  can  "  serve  any 
secret  designs  or  separate  interests,  and  that  the 
petitioners  only  seek  that  all  especial  notes  of  ground- 
less distinction  and  disesteem  may  be  abated,  and  a 
universal  good  understanding  established."  As  the 
rejection  of  the  claim  of  these  ministers  seemed  to  im- 
ply that  they  were  not  regarded  by  the  Overseers  as 
"  teaching  elders,"  the  petitioners  aver,  that  both  Dr. 
Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles  were  "  ordained  as  such  by  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  were  sent  to  execute  that 
their  function  in  Boston,  and  that  their  being  such 
had  never  before  been  questioned  by  those  of  the 
order  of  the  churches  of  New  England,  as  they  have 
heard  of; "  and  they  pray,  therefore,  the  General  Court, 
as  their  last  resort,  and  as  the  best  expositors  of  their 
own  acts,  would  declare  these  Episcopal  clergymen 
to  be,  according  to  the  original  fundamental  con- 
stitution of  the  said  College,  two  of  its  Overseers.* 
The  General  Court,  in  August,  1727,  referred  the 
subject  of  these  memorials  to  its  next  autumn  session  seers- 
for  consideration,  and  caused  the  Overseers  to  be 
served  with  copies  of  them,  who,  in  October,  ap- 
pointed a  committee  "  to  draw  up  an  answer,"  and, 
in  December  following,  made  a  formal  reply  to  them, 
justifying  their  vote,  refusing  to  summon  the  me- 
morialists to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  board,  and 
denying  utterly  their  right  to  a  seat  by  force  of 
the  terms  "  teaching  elders,"  in  the  first  charter  of  the 
College.  They  contended,  that,  by  known  rules  of 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXII. 


372  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   construction,  the  signification  of  those  terms  must  be 

'. —  decided  by  the  established  and  general  acceptation  of 

them  in  the  places  and  at  the  times  in  which  they 
were  used  ;  and  that  "  the  known  construction  of  these 
terms  in  this  country  from  the  very  beginning  is  this, 
namely,  the  pastors  and  teachers  of  a  complete  Con- 
gregational church,  who  have  the  full  power  both  of 
teaching  and  administering  the  sacraments,  and  of 
ruling  in  the  said  church,  being  the  very  same  which 
the  Scriptures  call  bishops."  They  maintained  that 
this  signification  had  been  given  in  all  former  times 
to  those  terms,  in  all  public  and  controversial  writings, 
in  the  judgments  of  synods,  in  the  General  Court,  and 
in  the  laws  of  the  jurisdiction  ;  that  "  this  is  the  known 
use  and  signification  of  them  at  the  present  day  "  ;  and 
"  that  for  above  fifty  years  after  the  settlement  of  the 
colony  there  was  no  minister,  magistrate,  or  represent- 
ative, in  the  General  Court,  professedly  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and,  for  above  forty  years  after  the  act 
constituting  the  College,  there  were  no  other  teaching 
elders,  except  those  of  Congregational  churches,  then 
in  being  in  this  country."  To  such  teaching  elders 
alone,  therefore,  they  maintained  that  these  terms  could 
be  applied  ;  and,  from  the  laws  of  the  jurisdiction,  from 
the  declarations  of  magistrates,  ministers,  churches, 
courts,  synods,  and  people,  they  "  draw  the  undeniable 
conclusion,  that  the  reverend  memorialists  neither  have, 
nor  ever  have  had,  a  right  to  sit  among  us  as  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College."  By  way  of  corroborating 
this  opinion,  they  state,  that  "  all  the  insinuations  of 
the  memorialists,  about  their  being  teaching  elders, 
are  groundless  and  vain,  because  no  such  denomination 
as  *  teaching  elder'  can  ever  be  found  attributed  to 
ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  either  abroad 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  373 

or  here,  but  is  only  now  assumed  to  serve  their  present  CHAPTER 

turn,  and  to  break  in  upon  our  ancient  constitution  ;  "  1_ 

that  even  the  memorialists  carefully  avoid  styling  them- 
selves "  teaching  elders,"  but  call  themselves  "  incum- 
bents "  of  Christ  Church  and  King's  Chapel ;  and, 
further,  that  "  they  never  pretended,  nor  may  they 
pretend,  to  assert  themselves  to  be  bishops,  and  to  have 
the  full  and  unsubordinate  power  to  teach,  feed,  and 
govern  their  particular  churches."  As  it  respects  the 
fact,  that  the  memorialists  had  been  summoned  to 
attend  the  meetings  of  the  board,  they  state,  that  the 
occurrence  had  taken  place  without  the  direction  of  the 
Overseers,  through  error,  which  was  corrected  as  soon 
as  noticed  ;  that  the  notification  had  been  of  recent 
occurrence,  and  that  ministers  of  the  Episcopal  church 
had  for  many  years  existed  in  Boston,  yet  had  never 
been  summoned  to  attend  those  meetings,  nor  deemed 
Overseers,  nor  ever  had  complained  on  this  account ; 
and  that  notification  through  error  could  give  no  right, 
where  no  right  previously  existed  ;  that  neither  of  the 
memorialists,  if  they  had  been  summoned,  had  ever 
personally  attended,  or  on  any  occasion  had  acted  as 
Overseers.  As  to  the  "  argument  from  the  College 
being  a  nursery  of  piety  and  learning  "  as  well  to  those 
of  the  Church  of  England  as  to  others,  they  answer ; 
"  We  account  it  the  distinguishing  honor  of  our  Col- 
lege, that  education  there  is  free,  without  oaths  or 
subscriptions  to  any  particular  sort  of  church  order  or 
discipline  ;  and  that,  though  the  government  of  the 
College  be  of  the  Congregational  order,  yet,  agreeably 
to  their  known  principles  of  liberty,  the  sons  of  the 
Church  of  England  are  as  welcome  to  the  learning 
and  academical  honors  there  as  any  of  our  own  chil- 
dren ;  and  this  is  as  much  as  the  memorialists  can  in 


374  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  honor  or  justice  desire,  of  those  who  are  intrusted 
-  '.  —  with  a  constitution  settled  for  above  fourscore  years, 
before  any  of  their  order  pretended  to  a  right  to  come 
among  us,  and  even  above  forty  years  before  any  of 
the  said  reverend  order  was  settled  in  this  country." 
Considering  "  the  said  .act  and  constitution  a  sacred 
deposit,  put  into  their  hands  to  keep  inviolate  by  the 
excellent  and  ancient  fathers  of  the  country,"  they 
pray  the  General  Court  to  adhere  to  the  said  ancient 
constitution,  and  not  adjudge  the  reverend  memorial- 
ists to  be  such  "  teaching  elders  "  as  the  act  consti- 
tuting the  College  intends,  nor  declare  them  to  be  of 
the  number  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College.* 
The  repty  of  Dr-  Cutler  and  Mr.  Mylcs,  to  this 


Myies.r  answer  of  the  Overseers,  was  prepared  and  signed  by 
their  counsel,  John  Read,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
lawyers  of  that,  period  in  New  England  ;  and  their 
right  to  a  seat  in  the  board  was  maintained  on  the 
following  grounds. 

1  .  That  Episcopal  ministers,  by  force  of  ordination, 
institution,  and  induction,  are  in  fact  proper  teaching 
elders. 

2.  That  these  ministers  were  meant  and  intended 
to  be  included  in  that  act,  by  the  plain  force  of  its 
terms. 

3.  That   they   have  the   same   right    now  as  they 
would  have  had  in  case  they  had  applied  for  it  forty 
years  before. 

4.  That  the  liberty  of  individuals  to  form  churches, 
under  the  New   England  ecclesiastical  law,  did  not 
deny  to  members  of  the  Church  of  England  the  right 
to  have  their  ministers  ordained  by  bishops,  nor  in- 


*  See  Appendix,  No 


.  LXIII. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  375 

tended  to  refuse  ministers  so  ordained  the   character  CHAPTER 

P         . .  XYII. 

or  teaching  elders. 

5.  That,  by  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  Massachusetts, 
the  whole  power  of  ordaining,  expelling,  and  disposing 
of  the  pastors  is  vested  in  the  fraternity  ;  so  that  the 
teaching  elder  of  a  Congregational  church  has  no  more 
an  unsubordinate,  and  is  no  more  a  ruling,  power,  than 
are  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and,  of  con- 
sequence, has  no  more  right  to  regard  himself  in  the 
light  of  a  bishop  than  they ;  both  being  officers  to  teach 
and  to  feed  the  flock ;  and  both,  having  the  same  office 
and  faculty,  were  equally  entitled  to  the  denomination 
of  "  teaching  elders" ;  so  that  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  England  in  Boston  have  as  much  right  to  call  the 
College  theirs,  and  the  said  act  their  "  depositum," 
as  had  Congregational  ministers  ;  they  therefore  pray, 
that  their  right  to  a  seat  at  the  board  of  Overseers 
may  be  confirmed,  whereby  the  Congregational  min- 
ister would  not  have  the  less  benefit  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  the  Episcopalian  have  the  more  charity,  and 
the  better  title  to  confer  a  blessing  on  it.  * 

The  result  of  these  memorials  was  such  as,  from  Result- 
the  temper  of  the  times  and  the  predominating  in- 
fluences in  the  legislature,  the  memorialists  probably 
anticipated.  Oil  the  28th  of  December,  1727,  the 
memorials,  with  the  answer  of  the  Overseers,  and  the 
reply  of  the  memorialists,  were  taken  into  considera- 
tion by  the  legislature,  and  largely  debated  ;  and  upon 
the  question,  "  whether  it  is  within  the  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  charter  granted  to  the  said  College, 
that  the  reverend  memorialists  ought  to  be  deemed 
members  of  the  Overseers,"  it  passed  in  the  nega- 

•«• 
*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXIV. 


376  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


XVII. 


CHAPTER  tive.  This  vote  was  concurred  in  by  the  Council, 
and  approved  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Dummer. 

On  the  llth  of  January,  1728,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives revived,  and  "entered  further  into  consider- 
ation of  the  subject  matter  of,  these  petitions,  and  the 
following  question  was  thereupon  put,  viz.  Whether 
it  is  within  the  intent  and  meaning  of  the  act  of  the 
General  Court,  anno  1642,  and  referred  to  in  said 
memorial,  constituting  the  board  of  Overseers,  that  the 
reverend  memorialists,  the  said  Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Myles,  ought  to  be  deemed  members  of 
the  board  of  Overseers  ?  It  passed  in  the  negative. 
In  Council  read  and  concurred.  Consented  to,  William 
Dummer." 

Dr.  Cutler  seems  not  to  have  been  content  with 
this  decision,  publicly  and  deliberately  as  it  had  been 
made.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1730,  he  again  memo- 
rialized the  Overseers  upon  the  subject  of  his  right 
to  a  seat  at  their  board,  on  which  they  passed  a  reso- 
lution as  follows,  viz.  "  A  memorial  of  Dr.  Timo- 
thy Cutler,  bearing  date  the  llth  of  June,  1730,  was 
this  day  read,  and,  inasmuch  as  the  affair  referred  to 
in  this  memorial  has  been  once  and  again  maturely 
considered  by  this  board,  and  afterwards  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  upon  his  own  appeal  to  them,  and  at 
length  by  them  determined,  voted,  that  the  said  me- 
morial be  dismissed."  A  copy  of  this  vote  was 
ordered  to  be  delivered  to  Dr.  Cutler,  which  closed 
for  ever  his  further  pursuit  of  this  fruitless  and  agi- 
tating claim. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  377 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


Wadsworth  inaugurated.  —  General  Court  establish  a  Salary,  and  take 
Measures  towards  building  a  House  for  the  President.  —  Thanks 
of  the  Corporation.  —  Difficulties  of  President  Wadsworth.  —  Ap- 
plication of  the  Corporation  to  the  General  Court  for  Assistance. 
—  Rejected.  —  Address  of  the  Corporation  to  George  the  Second 
on  his  Accession.  —  Disorders  at  the  College.  —  Commencements 
made  private.  —  Overseers  appoint  a  Committee  to  examine  into 
the  State  of  the  College.  —  Their  Report.  —  President  and  Tutors 
first  form  a  distinct  Board.  —  First  Code  of  Laws  passed  according 
to  existing  Forms.  —  Dancing  restrained.  —  Longloissorie  prohibited 
teaching  French.  —  A  Tutor  refuses  to  be  examined  concerning 
his  Religious  Opinions.  —  Proceedings  of  the  Overseers. —  Public 
Commencements  renewed.  —  Hartshorn  denied  a  Degree,  —  He 
appeals  to  the  Overseers. — Their  Conduct  in  relation  to  it. — 
Thomas  Hollis  founds  a  Professorship  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy.  —  State  of  the  College.  —  Corporation  fail  in  their  Suit 
for  Lands  at  Merriconeag,  —  Colman  resigns  his  Seat  in  the  Cor- 
poration.—  Cotton's  Donation,  and  Colman's  Conduct  in  relation 
to  it.  —  Death  of  President  Wadsworth.  —  His  Services  and  Char- 
acter. 

THE    inauguration   of    President   Wadsworth    took   CHAPTEK 

XVIII. 

place  on  Commencement  day,  the  7th  of  July,  1725. 
The  records  of  the  Corporation  state,  that  there  was 

i  i  •  President 

a  procession,  as  had  been  usual  on  such  occasions,  Wads- 
from  the  College  to  the  meetinghouse.  "  The  Bache- 
lors of  Art  walked  first,  two  in  a  rank,  and  then  the 
Masters,  all  bareheaded ;  then  followed  Mr.  Wadsworth 
alone  as  President ;  next  the  Corporation  and  Tutors, 
two  in  a  rank ;  then  the  Honorable  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  Dummer  and  Council,  and  next  to  them  the 
VOL.  i.  48 


378  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  rest  of  the  gentlemen."     After  prajer  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 

— !_  Colman,  the  Governor,  on  delivering  the  keys,  seal, 

and  records  of  the  College,  to  the  President  elect,  as 
badges  of  authority,  addressed  him  in  English,  invest- 
ing him  with  the  government  thereof,  to  which  the 
President  made  a  reply,  also  in  English,  after  which 
he  went  up  into  the  pulpit,  and  "  pronounced  me- 
moriter  a  Latin  oration " ;  and  afterwards  presided 
during  the  usual  exercises  on  Commencement  day.* 
The  report  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
General  Court  on  the  18th  of  June,  1725,  was  made 
in  the  ensuing  December  ;  and,  after  considerable  de- 
bate and  interchange  of  amendments  between  the  two 
branches,  resulted  in  a  vote  establishing  the  salary  of 

Liberality     the  President  at  four  hundred  pounds  annually,  which 

General       the  General  Court  declare  to  be,   "  in  their  opinion, 

Court.  .  .  . r 

a  sufficient  and  honorable  maintenance  for  him,  the 
President,  for  one  year."  To  this  object  they  appro- 
priated the  future  rents  and  income  of  Massachusetts 
Hall,  and  expressed  a  "  hope,  that  there  will  not  be 
like  occasion,  in  future,  to  make  such  drafts  on  the 
public  Treasury,  but  that  the  Corporation  will  be  able 
to  support  the  President,  in  a  great  measure,  out  of 
their  unappropriated  rents  and  incomes."  And,  "  fur- 
ther to  encourage  Mr.  Wadsworth  cheerfully  to  go 
through  the  momentous  affairs  of  his  office,  they  re- 
solved, that  one  thousand  pounds  should  be  paid  to 
the  Corporation  by  them,  to  be  used  for  the  building 
a  handsome  wooden  dwellinghouse,  barn,  and  out- 
houses, on  some  part  of  the  College  land,  for  the  re- 
ception and  accommodation  of  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College  for  the  time  being." 

*  See  Records  of  the  Corporation.  —  Peirce's  Hist.  Harv.  Univ., 
p.  146. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  379 

In  consequence  of  this  unprecedented  act  of  liber-   CHAPTER 

XVIII. 

ality,  the  Corporation   prepared   a   formal    address  to  - 
the  General  Court,  in  which  they  declare,  that  "the  thanks  by 
Court  had   shown  themselves  kind  and  bountiful  pa-  ration. 
trons  of  the  College,  by  the  steady  and  constant  care 
they  have  taken  of  it,  and  the  salary  they  have  given 
out  of  the  public   treasury  for  the  support  of  the  suc- 
cessive Presidents,  and  at  sundry  particular  times  by 
expending  considerable   sums  for  the  accommodating 
scholars  and  furthering  the   good  purposes  for  which 
the  College  was  founded." 

The  style  of  this  address  of  the  Corporation  is 
sufficiently  humble  and  laudatory,  considering  that 
both  bodies  were  servants  of  the  Province,  and  that 
the  bounty  thus  praised  was  necessary  to  the  existence 
of  a  public  institution,  which,  the  address  proceeds  to 
state,  the  Honorable  Court  themselves  must  "  esteem 
to  be  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  the  whole  Prov- 
ince ;  for,  besides  the  good  supply  which  most  of 
the  pulpits  through  the  land  have  from  thence,  many 
of  your  own  honorable  members  have  had  the  benefit 
of  an  education  there,  and  attained  those  desirable 
accomplishments  which  make  our  country  justly  esteem 
them  the  more  fit  to  serve  the  public  in  sundry  of  the 
most  important  posts." 

By  way  of  reply  to  the  hope  expressed  in  the  1726. 
resolve  of  the  legislature,  that  the  Corporation  would 
be  able  to  support  the  President  out  of  the  College 
stock,  they,  in  this  address,  proceed  to  state,  that, 
though  "  we  are  heartily  willing  to  do  what  we  can 
towards  the  annual  support  of  a  President,  yet  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  do  any  thing  considerable  therein 
without  diminishing  the  College  stock  or  principal." 

Anticipating   probably  the   inadequacy  of  the   sum 


380  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CM  AFTER    granted  for  the  building  of  a  President's  house,  the 

—  address  expresses  "  a  willingness  to  employ  it  for  that 

purpose  as  well  as  we  can,  unless  the  General  Court 
should  see  meet  to  entertain  a  new  thought,  and  build 
it  by  a  committee  of  their  own  choosing,  which  would 
be  no  way  unacceptable  to  us."  A  suggestion,  how- 
ever, which  the  General  Court  did  not  "  see  meet 
to  entertain." 

This  address  was  delivered  by  the  President  and  a 
committee  of  the  Corporation  to  Lieutenant-Governor 
Dummer  and  the  Council  in  the  council-chamber,  and 
by  them  communicated  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 
Difficulties  Notwithstanding;  these  flattering  appearances  ac- 

ofPresi-  b         r/ 

lent  wads-  companying  the  commencement  of  this  presidency, 
Wadsworth,  like  his  predecessors,  soon  found  other 
thorns  in  his  path  besides  those  strewed  by  official 
duty  and  College  discipline.  By  the  appropriation  of 
the  rents  of  Massachusetts  Hall,  the  legislature  had 
indeed  placed  a  portion  of  his  compensation  upon  a 
somewhat  more  solid  foundation,  than  former  Presi- 
dents had  enjoyed ;  but  the  unappropriated  funds  of 
the  College  were  wholly  inadequate  to  supply  the 
residue,  and  the  precarious  favor  of  the  General  Court 
continued  to  be  the  sole  dependence  of  the  President 
for  an  important  part  of  his  maintenance.  The  pe- 
cuniary embarrassments  of  the  period  also  did  not 
cease,  and,  with  the  depreciation  attendant  on  a  cur- 
rency chiefly  paper,  soon  reduced  his  efficient  income 
nearly  to  the  same  level  with  that  of  his  predeces- 
sors;  and  Wadsworth,  although  not  compelled  like 
Leverett  to  incur  debt,  derived  only  a  scanty  support 
from  his  office. 

In  other  respects  the  difficulties  he  had  to  encounter 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  381 

were  annoying  and  painful.     After  the  lapse  of  a  year,   CHAPTER 

the   building  erecting  for  the  President's  house   was  L- 

not  in  a  tenantable  condition.  The  sum  granted  by 
the  General  Court,  as  had  been  anticipated,  proved 
insufficient,  and,  being  expended,  the  Corporation  had 
no  other  resource  than  to  apply  to  them  again  for 
relief.  Accordingly,  in  August,  1726,  they  addressed  corpora- 
a  memorial  to  the  legislature,  acknowledging  thank-  for  relief  to 

the  General 

fully  their  bounty  in  granting  a  thousand  pounds,  court; 
which  although  they  had  expended  with  "  the  utmost 
care  and  frugality,"  the  President's  house  was  not  yet 
finished ;  and,  after  proffering  an  exhibition  of  their 
accounts  to  whomsoever  the  General  Court  should 
appoint,  they  "  humbly  entreat  the  Court  to  enable 
them  to  obey  their  former  order,  viz.  to  build  and 
finish  a  handsome  house  for  the  President ;  "  and  they 
terminate  their  urgent  request  for  an  additional  grant 
with  the  following  graphic  account  of  the  difficulties 
in  which  President  Wadsworth  and  his  family  were 
involved.  "  He  can  nowhere  hire  a  convenient  house 
for  himself,  and  his  family  is  divided,  some  dwelling 
in  one  house  and  some  in  another.  His  household 
goods  are  disposed  of  in  several  houses  and  barns. 
These  difficult  circumstances  render  the  speedy  finish- 
ing a  house  for  his  reception  very  necessary,  which 
have  obliged  us  to  take  the  first  opportunity  to  lay 
this  representation  before  the  Honorable  Court,  which 
we  do  in  all  humility." 

A  statement  of  difficulties  like  these  had  not  the  which  is 
power  to  open  the  purse,  or  soften  the  heart,  of  the 
General  Court.     The  request  of  the  Corporation  being 
refused,  they  immediately  called  a  special  meeting  of 
the  Overseers,  to  ask  their  advice  as   to  the  further 


382  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  steps   to   be   taken  for  the    speedy   finishing    of   the 

—  President's  house. 

1726.        The  Overseers  at  their  meeting  recommended  the 

Oct.  6. 

Corporation  to  proceed  to  finish  the  house  "  with  all 
convenient  speed  and  frugality,  so  as  to  receive  the 
President  before  winter,  and  prepare  their  accounts  to 
be  laid  before  the  General  Court." 

On  this  recommendation  the  Corporation  proceeded 
to  finish  the  house  upon  "  credit,  as  far  as  might  be 
without  a  present  advance  of  money  to  the  workmen, 
and  agreed  with  the  workmen  accordingly." 

The  inconveniences  to  which  President  Wadsworth 
and  his  family  were  subjected  from  the  want  of  a 
comfortable  residence  were  so  intolerable,  that,  as  ap- 
pears by  his  Diary,  they  took  possession  of  the  house 
on  the  4th  of  November,  1726,  "when  not  half 
finished  within." 

corpora-          It  being  completed  in  the  ensuing  January,  a  meet- 
again  for      ing  of  the  Corporation  was  called,  and  a  memorial  to 

relief,  and  r 

the  result,  the  General  Court  prepared,  stating  the  debt  they 
had  incurred  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Overseers, 
and  the  urgency  of  the  workmen  for  their  pay,  and 
entreating  a  farther  grant  for  their  relief.  The  appli- 
cation received  from  the  legislature  a  decided  nega- 
tive. The  Corporation  had  therefore  no  other  resource 
than  to  order  their  treasurer  to  pay  the  amount  out 
of  the  College  treasury,  "  as  far  as  the  state  of  it  will 
allow";  and  the  General  Court,  by  paying  one  thou- 
sand out  of  eighteen  hundred  pounds* 'of  the  cost, 
have  enjoyed  the  credit,  ever  since,  of  building  a 
house  for  the  President  of  the  College. 

The  accession  of  George  the  Second  to  the  British 

*  Peirce's  Hist.  Haw.  Univ.,  p.  151. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  383 

throne  occurred  in  June,  1727.     It  was  deemed  by  the   CHAPTER 
Corporation  a  fit  occasion  to  express  their  loyalty  and  L_ 

,  ,  i        TT--  i  •    i  Address  of 

patriotism  by  an  address  to  the  King,  which  was  care-  the  corpo- 
fully  prepared,  and  "  sent  over  to  Mr.  Thomas  Hollis  George  the 

Second,  on 

and  Mr.  Henry  Newman,  to  be  presented  by  them  hisa 
and  such  as  they  should  choose  to  go  with  them."  In 
this  address  they  set  forth  the  zeal  of  the  College 
"  for  the  Protestant  succession  in  your  Majesty's  per- 
son," their  "  tears  over  the  grave  of  the  great  king  your 
father,"  and  say,  that  they  "  bring  hearts  full  of  joy  for 
'your  Majesty's  peaceful  accession."  They  proceed  ; 
"  Our  fathers  were  some  of  the  old  Puritans,  so  called 
from  their  purer  church  state  and  way  of  worship,  and 
manner  of  godly  discipline,  which,  in  their  apprehen- 
sions, they  sought  and  practised.  To  their  immortal 
honor  it  must  be  remembered  and  recorded,  that,  as 
they  sought  a  quiet  seat  and  retirement  for  themselves 
and  their  posterity  in  the  deserts  of  America,  so  they 
were  likewise  animated  with  a  prospect  of  enlarging 
the  English  empire  in  regions  not  known  to  former 
ages.  And  as,  under  the  encouragement  of  royal  char- 
ters granted  them,  they  cheerfully  planted  and  sub- 
dued a  vast  wilderness  at  their  own  expense,  and  not 
without  many  hardships  and  hazards,  so  religion  was 
always  their  first  and  chief  care,  and,  in  order  to  that, 
learning.  In  this  they  were  singular  among  the  Pro- 
vinces, and  we  their  posterity  reap  the  honor  and 
happy  fruits  of  it.  In  one  of  their  first  towns  they 
planted  a  seminary  for  learning,  and  called  it  by  the 
worthy  name  of  Cambridge.  In  this  College  are 
taught  the  learned  languages,  the  liberal  arts  and 
sciences,  unto  this  day,  and  from  it  our  many  churches 
have  (through  the  favor  of  God)  been  supplied  with 
pastors,  and  the  highest  chairs  of  honor  among  us 


384  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   have    been   sometimes  laudably  filled,  to  the  service 
'  of  the  King  and  the  good  of  the  country. 

"  Nothing  but  learning  and  good  morals  are  here 
required  to  qualify  persons  for  the  honors  and  favors 
of  the  house,  but  they  are  equally  dispensed  unto 
Protestants  of  all  persuasions.  The  principles  of 
loyalty  and  religion  are  here  taught  and  instilled  into 
our  youth ;  and  our  many  churches  are,  at  this  day, 
famous  for  their  zeal  for  the  true  Protestant  religion, 
according  to  the  doctrinal  articles  of  the  Church  of 
England,  which  divine  truths  we  see  with  joy  secured 
to  us  in  your  Majesty's  possession  of  the  throne  of 
your  ancestors." 

The  address  concludes  with  a  prayer,  that  the  Col- 
lege may  find  favor  and  protection  with  his  Majesty, 
and  also  "  grace  in  the  eyes  of  her  Majesty,  your 
royal  consort,  who,  with  her  royal  offspring,  are  to 
us  as  the  light  of  our  eyes  and  the  breath  of  our 
nostrils." 

1723.  The  body  of  the  address  above  quoted,  had  been 
prepared  four  years  before,  on  occasion  of  the  detection 
of  a  conspiracy  against  the  person  and  government 
of  George  the  First,  in  favor  of  the  Pretender,  and 
sent  to  England,  to  Mr.  Hollis,  for  presentation ;  but, 
arriving  after  the  death  of  that  king,  it  failed  of  its 
object.  Having  been  read  at  that  time  "  paragraph  by 
paragraph,  and  approved  of,"  it  was  thought  too  good 
to  be  lost ;  and,  after  changing  the  beginning  and  the 
end,  to  suit  the  new  occasion,  it  was  inserted  bodily 
into  an  address  to  George  the  Second,  congratulatory 
upon  his  accession. 

Its  style  and  topics  were,  it  is  very  obvious,  better 
suited  to  the  atmosphere  of  New  than  of  Old  Eng- 
land, and  adapted  rather  to  that  of  a  synod  than  of  a 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  385 

court.     Mr.  Hollis,  to  whom  it  had  been  sent  when  CHAPTER 

designed  for  George  the  First,  perceived  the   inapti-  1_ 

tude  of  the  address,  and,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Colman, 
dated  the  22d  of  July,  1727,  he  thus  expresses  him- 
self concerning  it. 

"  I  have   showed  your  address   to  sundry  persons,  Remarks 

,.  „,        of  Thomas 

who  say  your  compliments  to  our  court  now  are  nity  Hoiiison 

...  J   J  ,  *     the  address. 

if  not  one  hundred  years  too  ancient  for  our  present 
polite  style  and  court.  If  you  reassume  the  thoughts 
of  addressing  the  new  King,  let  me  recommend  to  your 
reading  over  the  addresses  of  the  London  Dissenting 
ministers,  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  the  Qua- 
kers, all  of  which  are  printed,  with  many  more  good 
ones,  in  our  London  Gazette,  from  which  you  may  make 
one  that  will  be  better  accepted  at  St.  James's.  This 
is  now  flirted  at,  as 'a  Bible  address,' says  one; 'a 
Concordance  address,'  says  another  ;  though  I  think  it 
an  honest-meaning,  Christian  address.  Plain  dealing 
will  not  go  down  among  flatterers.  I  have  not  seen 
the  Governor  (Shute)  lately,  nor  had  opportunity  to 
show  it  unto  him  for  advice.  Perhaps  he  may  be 
displeased,  if  I  should,  because  you  have  not  men- 
tioned his  name.  What  have  courts  to  do  to  study 
Old-Testament  phrases  and  prophecies  ?  It  is  well  if 
they  read  the  Common  Prayer  Book  and  Psalter  care- 
fully." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  he  repeats  his  advice  as  to 
the  models  for  an  address,  but  declines  the  honor  of 
presenting  it.  "  I  have  no  acquaintance  with  the 
great  ones  at  the  court.  I  live  privately  among  my 
own  family,  and  decline  the  public  show." 

The  state  of  the  institution  during  the  presidency 
of  Wadsworth  was  troubled  and  disorderly.  If  records 
and  diaries  are  to  be  credited,  there  is  cause  for  the 

VOL.  i.  49 


386  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   consoling   exclamation   of   the    Preacher :    "  Say   not 
xvnr 

—  thou,    What  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days  were 

better  than  these  ?  for  thou  dost  not  inquire  wisely 
concerning  this."* 
Disorders         Great  excesses,  immoralities,  and  disorders  occurred 

at  Com- 
mence-       about  this  period.     These  were  peculiarly  annoying  at 

the  Commencement  season.  Five  years  before,  on 
the  llth  of  June,  1722,  a  check  upon  them  had  been 
attempted  by  a  vote  of  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seers, prohibiting  Commencers  from  "  preparing  or 
providing  either  plumb  cake,  or  roasted,  boiled,  or 
baked  meats,  or  pies  of  any  kind,"  and  from  having  in 
their  chambers  "  distilled  liquors,  or  any  composition 
made  therewith,"  under  penalty  of  being  "  punished 
twenty  shillings  to  be  paid  to  the  use  of  the  College," 
and  of  forfeiture  of  the  provisions  and  liquors,  "  to  be 
seized  by  the  tutors."  On  Commencement  day  the 
President  and  Corporation  were  accustomed  to  visit 
the  rooms  of  the  Commencers,  "  to  see  if  the  laws 
prohibiting  certain  meats  and  drinks  were  not  vio- 
lated."! But,  the  disturbances  incident  to  the  day 
not  being  prevented  by  these  measures,  a  vote,  in 
April,  1727,  passed  both  boards,  that  "  Commence- 
ments for  time  to  come  be  more  private  than  has 
been  usual ;  and,  in  order  to  this,  that  the  time  for 
them  be  not  fixed  to  the  first  Wednesday  in  July,  as 
formerly,  but  that  the  particular  day  should  be  deter- 
mined upon  from  time  to  time  by  the  Corporation,  and 
that  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Board  of  Overseers 
be  seasonably  acquainted  of  the  said  day,  and  be  de- 
sired to  honor  the  solemnity  with  their  presence." 
Neither  the  penalty  of  the  law,  nor  the  vigilance 

*  Ecclesiastes,  vii.  10,  f  Wadsvvorth's  Diary,  pp.  45,  63. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UiNIVERSITY.  387 

of  both  boards,  was  effectual  to  restrain  the  tendency   CHAPTER 

X  VI 1 1. 

to  expense  at  Commencement ;   and,  on  the   12th  of   

June,  1727,  a  vote  passed  the  Corporation,  and  was 
subsequently  approved  by  the  Overseers,  declaring, 
that  "  if  any  who  now  do,  or  hereafter  shall,  stand 
for  their  degrees,  presume  to  do  any  thing  contrary 
to  the  act  of  llth  of  June,  1722,  or  go  about  to  evade 
it  by  plain  cake,  they  shall  not  be  admitted  to  their 
degree,  and  if  any,  after  they  have  received  their 
degree,  shall  presume  to  make  any  of  the  forbidden 
provisions,  their  names  shall  be  left  or  rased  out  of  the 
Catalogue  of  the  graduates." 

To  prevent  disorders,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  im-  1728. 
mediate  government,  a  formal  request  also  was  made 
by  the  President,  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Dummer, 
praying  him  to  direct  the  sheriff  of  Middlesex  to  pro- 
hibit the  setting  up  of  booths  and  tents  on  those  public 
days.* 

Some  years  afterwards,  in  June,  1733,  "an  inter- 
view took  place  between  the  Corporation  and  three 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  Cambridge,  to  concert  mea- 
sures to  keep  order  at  Commencements,  and  under 
their  warrant  to  establish  a  constable  with  six  men, 
who,  by  watching  and  walking  towards  the  evening 
on  these  days,  and  also  the  night  following,  and  in 
and  about  the  entry  at  the  College  Hall  at  dinner 
time,  should  prevent  disorders." 

Circumstances   indicate    that    offences   incident   to  Disorders 
College  life  were,  from  some  cause,  greatly  multiplied,  iege.e 
and  that   insubordination  was  not  confined  solely  to 
students.     At  the  Commencement  in  1731,  President 
Wadsworth  states  in  his  Diary,  that  "  three  of  the  tu- 
•ws  were  absent  (two  of  them  purposely,  a  thing  never 

*  Wadsworth's  Diary,  p.  63. 


388  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  known  before) ;  a  third,  though  he  stayed  at  College, 
and  went  to  the  meetinghouse,  yet  did  not  appear  to 
act  as  fellows  used  to  do,  in  keeping  good  order  in  the 
Hall  at  dinner  time,  nor  in  walking  in  the  procession 
as  usual." 

overseers         The  general  state  of  the  College  attracted  the  at- 

appoint  a 

committee    tcntion  of  the  board  of  Overseers  in  November,  1731  ; 

of  inquiry, 

who  report,  at  which  time  a  committee  was  appointed,  to  inquire 
into  its  condition,  and  "  to  report  proposals  for  its 
benefit."  Neither  the  President,  nor  Mr.  Colman,  nor 
any  of  the  Corporation,  although  several  of  them  were 
members  of  the  board  of  Overseers,  was  included 
in  this  committee;  and,  as  the  result  proved,  it  wras 
composed  of  individuals  not  unwilling  to  find. faults, 
and  little  scrupulous  about  giving  them  publicity.* 
After  an  investigation  of  eight  months,  in  September, 
1732,  the  committee  made  a  report,  "  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  College  is  in  a  weak  and  declining  state, 
partly  through  a  deficiency  of  laws,  partly  by  reason 
of  some  disputes  and  difficulties  which  have  arisen 
respecting  the  execution  of  the  laws  in  being;  that 
religion,  one  great  end  of  that  society,  is  much  upon 
the  decay  ;  a  manifest  evidence  of  which  is,  that  the 
worship  of  God  in  the  Hall  is  scandalously  neglected, 
or  but  partially  and  not  seasonably  attended  by  many  ; 
that  great  disorders  have  of  late  appeared  amongst  the 
students ;  some  gross  immoralities  are  growing,  and 
many  customs,  that  have  a  bad  influence,  indulged  ; 
that  the  long-accustomed  method  of  instruction  re- 
quires alterations,  and  that  the  general  condition  of 
the  College  calls  loudly  for  the  interposition  of  the 
wisdom  and  authority  of  the  Overseers." 

H 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LXV. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  389 

By   way  of  remedy  for  these  evils  the  committee   CHAPTER 


xvnr. 


laws. 


made  seven   proposals. 

First  Proposal.     That  the  laws  should   be   revised  Proposals 

for  a  revi- 

and  adapted  to  the  present  circumstances  or  the  so- 
ciety ;  that  all  be  in  Latin,  and  each  student  have 
a  copy. 

Under  this  head  the  committee  made  the  following 
specifications  of  laws.  1.  That  pecuniary  mulcts  or 
fines,  be  specified  in  the  quarter  bills  and  sent  to  par- 
ents. 2.  That  mulcts  for  absence  from  chapel  prayers, 
from  public  worship,  and  divinity  lectures,  be  raised, 
and  followed  up  by  admonitions,  degradation,  and  ex- 
pulsion. 3.  Students  sick  on  the  Lord's  day,  to  give 
notice  to  the  President  or  fellows,  before  meeting,  that 
their  case  may  be  inquired  into.  4.  That  tutors  take 
care,  that  students  early  retire  to  their  chambers  on 
Saturday  evening,  and  that  disorders  on  Sabbath  even- 
ing be  punished  like  those  on  the  Sabbath.  5.  That 
students  remiss  in  attending  College  exercises  be  pun- 
ished by  fine,  admonition,  degradation,  or  expulsion. 
6.  That  the  tutors,  to  quicken  diligence,  visit  cham- 
bers in  the  day,  in  study  hours,  and  at  night  after  nine 
o'clock.  7.  That  Hollis  scholars  be  deprived  of  his 
bounty,  unless  they  attend  the  instructions  of  his  Pro- 
fessor. 8.  That  students  should  not  allow  strangers 
to  lodge  in  their  rooms  without  leave  of  the  President 
or  a  tutor.  9.  That  students  and  graduates  be  pre- 
vented from  using  punch,  flip,  and  like  intoxicating 
drinks.  10.  That  laws  with  severe  penalties  be  made 
against  immoralities,  particularly  against  profane  swear- 
ing, cursing,  taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  sabbath- 
breaking,  light  behaviour,  playing  or  sleeping  at  public 
worship  or  prayers  ;  against  drunkenness,  uncleanness, 
lying,  and  stealing ;  breaking  open  chambers,  studies, 


390  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  letters,  desks,  chests,  or  any  place  under  lock  and 

'—.  key ;  and  having  picklocks.  1 1 .  That  graduates, 

bachelors,  and  masters,  who  set  a  bad  example  to  the 
undergraduates  by  idleness,  extravagance,  neglect  of 
public  worship,  or  disorders  in  their  chambers,  or  by 
showing  contempt  to  the  authority  of  the  College,  be 
subject  to  be  admonished,  to  be  deprived  of  their 
chambers  and  residence,  and  to  have  their  rooms 
visited  by  the  President.  12.  That  fellows  and  grad- 
uates, who  have  chambers  in  the  College,  board  in 
commons.  13.  That  commons  be  of  better  quality, 
have  more  variety,  clean  tablecloths  of  convenient 
length  and  breadth  twice  a  week,  and  that  plates  be 
allowed.  14.  That  students  discontinuing  the  occu- 
pation of  a  study  three  months  be  deprived  of  it. 
15.  That  the  annual  vacation  after  Commencement  be 
only  six  weeks,  and  students  staying  away  beyond 
that  time  be  punished. 

Second  Proposal.  That  the  salaries  of  the  tutors 
and  instructors  be  paid  quarterly. 

Third  Proposal.  That  the  Overseers  reassume  their 
ancient  right  of  consenting  to  and  allowing  salaries. 

Fourth  Proposal.  That  the  Corporation,  in  the 
election  of  President  and  Fellows,  procure  the  presence 
of  the  Overseers. 

Fifth  Proposal.  That  the  Fellows  be  all  resident 
in  Cambridge,  and  be  such  as  are  employed  in  the 
instruction  of  the  College. 

Sixth  Proposal.  That  tutors  be  chosen  for  a  term 
of  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  a  new  election 
shall  be  made. 

Seventh  Proposal.  That  the  Overseers  have  two 
stated  meetings  at  the  College,  of  the  nature  of  visi- 
tations, 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  391 

That  there  was  cause  for  dissatisfaction  with  the   CHAPTER 

moral  conduct  of  some  of  the    students,    about    this  _ 

time,  is  certain ;   but  whether  greater  than  at  former 
periods,  considering  the  relative  numbers,  is  question- 
able.    On  this  point  we  have  no  means  of  compari-  President 
son  ;  since  no  records  are   extant  of  the  proceedings  first  form  a 

distinct 

of  the  President  and  tutors  acting  as  a  distinct  board  board. 
previous  to  the  presidency  of  Wadsworth.  Under 
his  auspices  the  immediate  government  first  assumed 
the  character,  and  adopted  the  forms,  of  an  inde- 
pendent board,  on  all  subjects  of  discipline.  This 
had  been  administered  before  by  the  tutors,  who,  on 
their  personal  authority,  inflicted  fines,  or  "  boxed " 
the  students  at  discretion,  provided  only  that  it  was 
not  "  immoderate  or  inhuman."  Great  offences,  re- 
quiring admonition,  degradation,  or  expulsion,  were 
punished  by  the  President  after  consulting  the  tutors, 
but  no  systematic  account  was  kept  of  their  pro- 
ceedings. 

The  records  of  the  immediate  government,  which 
commence  in  September,  1725,  not  only  indicate  that 
a  disposition  to  commit  the  offences  incident  to  Col- 
leges was  then  sufficiently  active,  but  prove  also, 
that  the  will  and  the  power  to  punish  existed  in  that 
board.  From  increasing  wealth,  population,  and  in- 
tercourse with  Europe,  the  strictness  of  ancient  man- 
ners had  been  greatly  relaxed  about  this  period  in  the 
Province,  and  the  College  was  naturally  the  point  at 
which  the  effects  of  this  change  would  appear.  Causes 
enough  existed  for  a  revision  of  its  laws,  but  appar- 
ently none  sufficient  to  justify  the  broad  denunciations 
and  intimations  contained  in  the  report  of  this  com- 
mittee. 

The   charges   thus   brought,  in  no  very  measured 


392  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   terms,   against  the    government  of   the    seminary,   as 

L_   being  "  weak  and   declining,"  and  the   lamentations 

concerning  "  the  decay  of  religion,"  were  probably 
understood  at  the  time  to  be  the  exaggerated  ex- 
pressions of  a  sectarian  party  of  considerable  power, 
then  struggling  to  regain  their  ancient  ascendency, 
both  in  the  College  and  in  the  Province ;  and  who 
were  willing  to  attribute  the  disorders,  incident  to  the 
period,  to  the  influences  of  the  liberal  religious  spirit, 
in  which  its  administration  was  conducted.  From  this 
party  the  celebrated  Methodist,  Whitefield,  unquestion- 
ably derived  the  opinion,  which  he  expressed  some 
years  afterwards  in  his  Journal,  that  the  College  was 
"  not  far  superior  to  the  University  of  Oxford  in  piety 
and  godliness.  "J, 
Report  re-  On  the  reading  of  this  report,  the  friends  of  the 

committed.     ...  . 

institution  and  of  its  administration  rallied  ;  and  the 
first  proposal,  and  all  its  specifications,  were  referred 
to  the  committee  which  made  the  report,  after  adding 
to  it  the  President  and  two  members  of  the  Corpora- 
tion ;  thus  giving  to  this  body  an  efficient  voice  in  the 
committee  upon  all  questions  arising  out  of  those 
specifications. 

The  second  proposal  was  so  far  accepted  as  to  order 
a  draft  of  a  law  in  conformity  to  it  to  be  prepared. 

The  third  was  adopted,  and  a  copy  ordered  to  be 
delivered  to  the  Corporation. 

The  fourth  was  then  so  modified,  as  to  declare, 
that  "  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  should  be  equivalent 
to  their  presence." 

The  fifth  was  negatived. 

The  sixth  was  accepted,  and  the  term  for  which 
the  tutors  should  be  chosen  fixed  at  three  years. 

The  seventh  was  accepted,  and  the  times  fixed  for 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  393 


the  meetings  of  the  Overseers  were  the  last  Tuesday   CHAPTER 
in  March  and  the  last  Tuesday  in  September. 

Thus  both  the  points,  on  which  the  controversies 
started  by  Sever  and  Welsteed  turned,  were,  after  a 
struggle  that  continued  nearly  ten  years,  deliberately 
and  finally  settled  on  the  basis  asserted  by  the  Corpo- 
ration. The  election  of  tutors  was  limited  to  three 
years,  and  Fellows  of  the  Corporation  were  not  re- 
quired to  be  resident  instructors. 

The  committee  on  a  revisal  of  the  laws  reported, 
in  May,  1733,  to  the  Overseers,  who,  instead  of  acting 
upon  the  report,  referred  the  whole  subject  to  the  Cor- 
poration, recommending  a  revision  of  the  laws,  and  that 
the  result  be  laid  before  the  Overseers  for  their  consent. 
The  Corporation  proceeded  accordingly,  and,  on  the 
26th  of  March,  1734,  presented  the  revised  code  to 
the  Overseers,  who  consented  to  it  with  certain 
amendments.  These  were  also  referred  to  the  Cor- 
poration, who,  after  consideration,  having  adopted 
them,  presented  the  laws  thus  amended  to  the  Over- 
seers, for  their  final  sanction.  On  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, the  laws  thus  laboriously  framed,  were  pub-  Laws  of  the 
lished  in  the  College  Hall,  in  the  presence  of  the  visedfand5 
Overseers,  the  Corporation,  and  the  whole  body  of  mtheCoi- 

*  lege  Hall. 

students. 

This  was  the  first  code  of  laws  known  to  have  been 
passed  by  both  boards,  with  the  observance  of  all  the 
forms  of  proceeding  in  making  laws,  which  afterwards 
prevailed,  and  which  continue  to  this  day. 

On  one  occasion  during  the  process  of  forming  this 
code  of  laws,  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  appear 
to  have  met  in  the  College  library,  for  the  purpose 
of  mutual  explanation,  and  facilitating  the  progress 
of  the  work.  The  forms  of  proceeding  in  the^  inter- 

VOL.  i.  50 


394  HISTORY  OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  course  between  the  two  boards  were,  notwithstanding, 
__  scrupulously  observed.  The  amendments  proposed 
by  the  Overseers  were  first  recommended  by  them 
to  the  Corporation  for  consideration,  and  all  farther 
action  was  suspended  until  "  the  law  so  amended 
was  again  presented  to  the  Overseers  for  their  con- 
sent." This  course  was  pursued  "  until  the  whole 
body  of  laws  was  agreed  to  both  by  the  Overseers 
and  Corporation."  * 

In   April,    1735,  a  vote   passed   the   Overseers,  re- 
commending the  Corporation  "  to  restrain  unsuitable 
An  inquiry    and  unseasonable  dancing  in  the  College."     A  corn- 
noxious       mittee  was  also  appointed  to  inquire  into  certain  dan- 

•bpimons  of  *  L 

instructors,  gerous  errors,  said  to  have  been  disseminated  in  the 
College  by  a  Mr.  Longloissorie,  a  Frenchman,  em- 
ployed under  the  authority  of  the  President  and  tutors 
as  an  instructor  in  the  French  language ;  and  the 
committee  were  directed  to  report  how  far  his  errors 
had  been  propagated  and  received.f  The  committee, 
in  May,  1735,  reported,  "  that  it  did  not  appear  that 
Mr.  Longloissorie  had  vented  any  of  his  dangerous 
errors  among  the  undergraduates ;  but  that  he  had 
freely  communicated  them  to  the  graduates,  by  none 
of  whom,  however,  had  they  been  embraced."  Pop- 
ular reports  upon  this  subject  having  been  circulated 
concerning  Mr.  Rogers,  one  of  the  tutors,  the  com- 
mittee extended  their  inquiries  to  him.  This  officer 
declined  making  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  com- 
mittee, replying,  that  he  thought  it  a  hardship  to  be 
examined  as  to  his  particular  sentiments  on  the  said 
heads,  when  no  express  charges  had  been  made  against 
him,  and  the  committee  therefore  did  not  deem  them- 

*  Overseers'  Records.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  LXVL 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  395 

selves  enabled  to  report  him  to  be  "  free  and  clear  of    CHAPTER 

XVIII. 

the  obnoxious  opinions." 

Upon    this   report,    after    considerable  debate,    the  vote  of  the 

._  .  Overseers 

Overseers  voted  ;  thereon 

"  That  the  President  and  tutors  have  not  power  by 
any  law  to  introduce  or  permit  any  person  to  instruct 
scholars  in  arts  or  language  in  this  society ;  and  there- 
fore the  permission,  some  time  since  granted  to  Mr. 
Longloissorie,  to  teach  the  French  tongue,  is  in  itself 
void  ;  and,  inasmuch  as  this  board  judge  it  not  con- 
sistent with  the  safety  of  the  College  that  Mr.  Long- 
loissorie should  continue  to  teach  the  French  tongue 
there  any  longer,  it  was  further  voted, 

"  That  the  President  and  tutors  be  directed  to 
forbid  the  students,  whether  graduates  or  undergrad- 
uates, from  attending  his  instructions,  either  within 
the  College  walls  or  elsewhere." 

The  board  took  no  further  notice  of  the  refusal  of 
Mr.  Rogers  to  be  examined  by  their  committee,  but 
"  thought  it  proper  to  assert  and  declare  their  right  to 
examine  into  the  principles  of  all  those  that  are  em- 
ployed in  the  instruction  of  the  students  of  the  Col- 
lege, upon-  any  just  suspicion  of  their  holding  dan- 
gerous tenets,  although  no  express  charge  be  laid 
against  them." 

The  Overseers  also  proceeded  to  recommend  to  the 
Corporation  to  "  take  due  care  as  to  the  principles  of 
such  persons  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  chosen  by 
them  into  any  office  of  instruction ;  and  that  no  per- 
son, chosen  into  such  an  office,  shall  be  accepted  or 
continued,  who  refuses,  when  desired,  to  give  satisfac- 
tion to  this  board,  as  to  his  principles  in  religion."* 

*  Overseers'  Records. 


396  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER        For  several  years  during  the  administration  of  Wads- 

-1-  worth,  by  a  vote  of  the  Overseers  the  time  of  Corn- 

corn-6        mencement  was  concealed,  only  a  short  notice  being 


given  to  the  public  of  the  day  on  which  it  was  to  be 
and  why.  held.  Ill  the  Diary  of  President  Wadsworth  it  is 
stated,  that  Friday  was  fixed  on,  for  the  reason  "  that 
there  might  be  a  less  remaining  time  of  the  week 
spent  in  frolicking."  At  that  period  Commencement 
was  considered  a  great  holiday  in  Boston  and  its 
vicinity.  This  attempt,  therefore,  to  deprive  the  peo- 
ple of  their  chief  and  most  cherished  season  of  hilarity 
was  very  ill  received  by  the  multitude.  The  clergy  of 
the  Province,  who  almost  universally  assembled  on  that 
occasion,  were  also  dissatisfied,  complaining,  that  they 
were  prevented  from  attending  by  riot  knowing  the 
day  ;  *  and  that,  by  fixing  it  on  Friday,  those  of  them 
who  lived  at  a  distance  from  Cambridge,  were  subject 
to  great  inconvenience.  Accordingly  in  1736  this 
practice  was  abandoned,  and  Commencement,  as  form- 
erly, was  held  on  Wednesday,  to  general  satisfaction. 
On  this  day  an  event  occurred  indicative  of  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  practice  of  the  two  boards 
which  composed  the  government  of  the  College,  and 
the  uncertainty  which  existed  concerning  the  boun- 
daries of  their  respective  authorities. 
Ebenezer  One  Ebenezer  Hartshorn,  who  "  had  formerly  re- 

Hartshorn 

claims,  and  sided  at  the  College  for  some  time,"  had  requested,  in 

is  refused,  a  * 

Bachelor's    June,  1733,  to  be  admitted  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor 

degree. 

of  Arts.  The  Corporation,  after  taking  the  request 
into  consideration,  decided,  that  he  had  "  no  just 
claim  to  a  degree  according  to  the  laws  of  the  "  Col- 
lege, and  that  it  would  not  be  for  the  honor  of  the 

*  Wadsworth's  Diary  3  p,  135. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  397 

society  to  admit  him  to  it,  unless  he  offer  himself  for   CHAPTER 

XVtII. 

examination,  and  be  found  to  have  made  such  attain-  - 
ments  in  academical  learning  as  might  render  it  pro- 
per to  confer  such  a  degree  upon  him."  Hartshorn 
declined  offering  himself  for  examination,  declaring, 
"that  he  knew  nothing  of  Hebrew,  not  even  the 
letters ;  that  he  had  never  read  any  system  of  Natural 
or  Moral  Philosophy ;  that  he  was  unacquainted  with 
Mathematics,  and  could  not  pretend  to  answer  in 
Logic ;  that  he  chose  not  to  put  himself  on  examina- 
tion, if  he  must  be  examined  in  those  parts  of  academ- 
ical learning ;  and  that  all  he  could  consent  to  be 
examined  in  was  Latin  classic  authors,  the  Greek 
Testament,  and  his  profession  of  physic."  *  In  June, 
1736,  Hartshorn  applied  for  a  Master's  degree,  al- 
though he  had  never  yet  obtained  a  Bachelor's.  The 
Corporation  having  voted,  that  it  was  "  inconsistent 
with  the  laws  and  interests  of  the  College  that  he 
should  be  favored  with  a  degree,"  Hartshorn,  dis- 
satisfied with  this  decision,  presented  a  petition  to  the 
Overseers  for  a  Master's  degree  on  Commencement  He  claims 
day,  when  it  was  long  debated;  and,  although  those  degree, and 

.  is  refused. 

members  of  the  Corporation,  who  were  also  members  1736. 
of  the  Overseers,  showed  that  the  Corporation  had 
already  negatived  the  petition,  and  how  the  College 
laws  expressly  declared,  that  "  no  academic  degrees 
should  be  given  but  by  the  Corporation  with  the  consent 
of  the  Overseers,"  yet  the  Overseers  proceeded  to 
vote  Hartshorn  his  degree,  f  This  vote  occasioned 
President  Wadsworth  great  embarrassment ;  for  he  was 
obviously  reduced  to  the  dilemma  of  giving  a  degree 
contrary  to  the  College  laws,  or  of  refusing  it  in  oppo- 

*  Records  of  the  Corporation,  Vol.  IV.  pp,  166,  167. 
t  Wadsworth's  Diary,  p.  136. 


398  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   sition  to  the  vote  of  the  Overseers.     At  that  time,  the 

XVIII 

'—  performances  of  Commencement  day  were    attended 

both  in  the  forenoon  and  afternoon.  The  President, 
during  the  recess,  proposed  to  several  of  the  Corporation 
to  have  a  meeting  on  the  subject,  which  was  opposed ; 
and,  one  of  them  being  asked  what  was  proper  to  be 
done,  he  explicitly  refused  to  give  any  advice.  In  this 
perplexity  the  President  had  resolved  "  to  yield  to  the 
Proceed-  torrent,  and  graduate  Hartshorn."  But  when  he  was 
•>n 'of the  conferring  the  Masters'  degrees  in  full  assembly,  three 
«'^»-  of  the  Corporation  (six  of  them  being  present),  Dr. 
Sewall,  Dr.  Wigglesworth,  and  Mr.  Appleton,  came 
forward  and  opposed  Hartshorn's  being  graduated. 
The  President  then  declared  publicly,  that  it  was 
directly  against  the  College  laws  that  he  should  be 
graduated.  Whereupon  the  Governor  arose,  and  de- 
clared publicly  that  he  ought  to  be  graduated.  The 
debate  continued  long,  and  at  last  the  Governor  left 
the  meeting.  The  President  then  proceeded  to  give 
the  degrees,  and  refused  to  graduate  Hartshorn,  though 
he  presented  himself. 
A  degree  The  next  year  Hartshorn  again  renewed  his  petition 

granted  to  . 

Hartshorn,  to  the  Corporation,  who,  after  declaring  that  "  the 
Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers  of  the  College, 
since  the  last  vote  of  the  Corporation  upon  that  affair, 
had  manifested  their  disposition  that  such  a  favor 
should  be  conferred  upon  him,"  proceeded  to  vote,  that 
he  should  be  admitted  to  a  Master's  degree  at  the 
then  ensuing  Commencement. 

Foundation       During  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Wadsworth's  adminis- 
lisprofes-"   tration,  that  unwearied  friend,  the  first  Thomas  Hoi- 

sorship  of..         t    «  i       i          c  i«  r          T»       c  i»  rn/ri 

Mathemat-   lis,  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Professorship  of  Mathe- 

ics. 

1727.    matics  and    Natural   Philosophy   in  Harvard  College. 
He  had  long  meditated   the  subject,  and  thus  wrote 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  399 

upon  it  to  Mr.  Colman ;  "  Though  jeered  and  sneered   CHAPTER 

at  by  many,  I  leave  the  issue  to  the  Lord,  for  whose  

sake  I  perform  these  offices  and  services,  and  hope  I 
shall  be  enabled  to  continue  firm  and  finish  this  affair, 
which  1  call  a  good  work."  He  was  as  careful  that 
the  principles,  on  which  the  Professorship  was  founded, 
should  be  wise,  as  he  was  liberal  in  establishing  it. 
He  called  upon  his  educated  friends  for  plans,  and 
received  five,  all  of  which  he  transmitted  to  the  Cor- 
poration for  their  selection  and  approval  of  the  best. 
They  were  written  respectively  by  Isaac  Watts, 
Daniel  Neal,  Jeremiah  Hunt,  and  Professor  Emms, 
all  eminent  for  their  scientific  attainments  and  reli- 
gious zeal ;  and  by  Isaac  Greenwood,  the  individual, 
whom  he  had  selected,  and  who  was  afterwards 
chosen  by  the  Corporation  and  Overseers,  first  Pro- 
fessor on  this  foundation. 

By  the  report   of  the   investigating   committee  in  state  of  the 
1732,  it  appears,  that  "the  annual  income  of  the  estate  fundsln 

.  1732. 

of  the  College,  not.  appropriated  specifically  by  the 
donors,  amounted  to  £728  7s.  currency  ;  and  that  the 
stated  and  incidental  charges  have  been  such  for  these 
ten  years  past  that  the  estate  of  the  College  had  in- 
creased about  £100  per  annum." 

The  funds  of  the  College  were  diminished,  during 
Mr.  Wadsworth's  presidency,  by  the  expenses  and 
result  of  a  lawsuit,  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
possession  of  a  tract  of  land  in  Maine,  called  Merri- 
coneag  Neck.  This  tract  had  been  granted  by  the 
General  Court  to  the  College  in  1682.  But  the  Indian 
wars,  which  soon  after  took  place,  had  prevented  the 
legislature  from  bounding  out  the  tract ;  so  that  the 
College  had  never  obtained  possession.  The  Corpo- 
ration were  very  reluctant  to  enter  upon  the  pursuit 


400  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  of  their  title  ;  but,  the  advice  of  the  Overseers  being 

XVIII 

!_  asked   in  November,    1731,   thej   recommended    em- 
ploying  counsel,    and    putting   measures   in    train   to 
Title  of  the  prosecute  their  title  to  effect.     This  advice  the  Cor- 
Merrico-0    poration   proceeded  to  follow   in   1732.      Being  soon 
and°defeat-   doubtful  of  success,  they  applied  twice  to  the  Over- 
seers,  submitting  it  to  their  judgment,  whether   the 
College  had  not  better  endeavour  to  make  a  compro- 
mise with  the  claimants,  but  to  both  propositions  the 
Overseers  opposed  a  decided  negative. 

The  Corporation,  out  of  respect  to  the  opinion  of 
the  Overseers,  persevered  in  their  suit,  which,  in  1733, 
was  finally  decided  against  the  College,  to  its  loss  of 
the  lands  and  costs.  It  derived  therefore  no  more 
benefit  from  this  grant  of  1682,  than  it  had  previously 
from  the  grants  of  two  thousand  acres  in  1653,  and 
two  thousand  acres  in  the  Pequod  country,  in  1657, 
both  of  which  failed  ;-yet,  in  all  succeeding  times,  when 
a  question  has  arisen  in  the  General  Court  concerning 
"  what  that  Court  has  done  for  the  College,"  not  only 
have  both  these  grants  been  carefully  enumerated,  but, 
to  these  ideal  bounties,  there  has  ever  been  added 
"  Merriconeag  Neck,  in  Casco  Say,  with  a  thousand 
acres  adjacent." 
Benjamin  In  the  third  year  of  Wadsworth's  presidency  trie 

Colman  re-     .-+  *ii  **  i  *  c      i 

signs  his      Corporation  lost,   by  resignation,   the  services  or  the 
Corpora-      Rev.   Benjamin  Colman,    who,    during   twelve  years, 

tion. 

had  been  an  active,  faithful,  and  able  member  of  the 
board.  In  February,  1728,  he  gave  notice  of  his  in- 
tention to  resign.  The  Corporation,  anxious  to  retain 
his  services,  immediately  passed  the  following  vote  ; 
"  Whereas  the  Rev.  Mr.  Colman  has,  by  word  of 
mouth  and  letters  to  the  President,  expressed  his 
desires  to  resign  his  place  in  the  Corporation,  the 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  401 

said  Corporation,  being  sensible  of  his  good  services  CHAPTER 
past,  and  of  the  importance  of  his  future  service  to  - 
the  College  as  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  are  very 
desirous  of  his  continuing  his  place  therein  ;  and  ac- 
cordingly voted,  that  the  President  be  requested  to 
write  a  letter  in  the  name  of  the  Corporation,  sig- 
nifying their  sentiments  and  desires."  Colman  hav- 
ing in  a  letter  to  the  President  avowed  his  inten- 
tion to  be  unaltered,  the  Corporation,  on  the  30th  of 
August,  passed  a  second  vote,  "  that  it  would  tend 
much  to  the  peace  and  service  of  the  College,  if  he 
continue  his  standing  in  the  Corporation,  notwith- 
standing his  former  desires  to  be  dismissed  from 
it."  The  purpose  of  Mr.  Colman,  however,  was  not 
changed.  He  left  the  board  finally  in  December, 
1728,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sewall,  minister  of  the 
South  Church  in  Boston,  was  chosen  in  his  stead. 
Mr.  Colman  had  several  years  contemplated  this  resig- 
nation, but,  out  of  respect  to  his  friends  and  their 
urgency,  he  had  reluctantly  retained  his  position  at 
the  board.  Among  these,  Thomas  Hollis  had  prob- 
ably the  most  influence.  He  was  anxious  that  Mr. 
Colman  should  continue  in  the  Corporation,  and  that 
ke  should  be  made  President  of  the  College.  In 
1724,  on  receiving  information  that  he  had  been 
elected  to  that  office,  but  that  he  hesitated  accepting 
it  on  account  of  the  insufficiency  of  the  salary,  Mr. 
Hollis  communicated  the  fact  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cot- 
ton, a  gentleman  of  fortune,  who  had  known  Mr. 
Colman  when  in  Europe.  That  gentleman  imme- 
diately placed  in  the  hands*  of  Mr.  Hollis  one  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling,  "  for  Mr.  Colman,  President  of 

*  Letter  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Colman,  February  23d,  1724. 
VOL.    I.  51 


402  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


XVIII. 


CHAPTER  the  College,  as  an  augmentation  of  his  salary,  ami 
as  an  encouragement  to  him  to  accept  it,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  removing  difficulties  towards  such 
acceptance."  Mr.  Cotton  also  placed  in  Mr.  Hol- 
lis's  hands  three  hundred  pounds  sterling  more,  to 
be  laid  out  for  the  College  in  books  or  charity,  ac- 
cording to  the  advice  of  Mr.  Colman.  This  dona- 
tion was  the  occasion  of  putting  to  trial  Mr.  Colman's 
delicacy  and  disinterestedness.  The  first  hundred 
pounds  had  been  bestowed  in  terms  which  authorized 
him  to  consider  the  sum  as  a  gift  to  him  individually. 
But  it  had  been  also  stated  to  have  been  designed  as 
an  encouragement  for  him  to  accept  the  presidency. 
No  sooner,  therefore,  had  he  declined  that  office,  than 
he  applied  the  whole  amount  of  Mr.  Cotton's  bounty 
to  the  use  of  the  College.  This  appears  by  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Colman  from  Mr.  Hollis,  dated  August  12th, 
1725,  who  treats  the  subject  in  this  kind  and  friend- 
ly way ;  "  With  reference  to  the  account  you  give 
me  of  the  proportioning  the  four  hundred  pounds  Mr. 
Cotton  has  ordered  for  bounty  and  charity,  I  do  nothing 
to  contradict  your  agreement,  and  I  believe  my  good 
friend  Mr.  Cotton  will  also,  save  in  one  particular. 
I  think  Mr.  Colman  is  over-righteous.  Mr.  Cotton 
told  me,  it  was  a  present  to  Mr.  Colman,  from  a  long- 
contracted  friendship ;  and,  as  he  was  now  chosen 
President,  it  might  be  a  small  inducement  to  en- 
courage his  accepting  the  chair,  believing  him  a  fit 
person  to  fill  it ;  but  it  is  not  to  Mr.  President,  but  to 
Mr.  Colman,  the  present  is  made,  as  I  understand  it. 
If  Mr.  Colman's  circumstances  need  not  such  a  gift,  it 
is  at  your  liberty  to  do  what  you  will  with  your  own  ; 
but  it  must  be  Mr.  Colman's  gift,  and  not  Mr.  Cot- 
ton's." 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY  403 


Notwithstanding  this  kind  remonstrance  Mr.  Colman   CHAPTER 

XVIII 

adhered  to  his  purpose.     In  a  subsequent  letter  Mr.  — 
Hollis   acknowledges   having   received  an   account  of 
"  the    hundred    pounds,    Mr.    Cotton's    gift,    and    his 
satisfaction  with  its  distribution." 

Mr.  Colman  survived  the  dissolution  of  his  con- 
nexion with  the  Corporation  nearly  twenty  years ; 
and  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  in  August, 
1747  ;  to  which  period  is  postponed  the  tribute  due 
to  his  character  and  services. 

The  death  of  President  Wadsworth  occurred  on  the  Death  and 

16th  of  March,   1737,   and  was  lamented  with  more  of  Presi- 
dent Wads- 

than  ordinary  demonstrations  of  sorrow.  Appleton,  worth. 
Sewall,  Wigglesworth,  and  Foxcroft,  all  divines  of 
celebrity,  delivered  funeral  sermons  on  the  occasion  ; 
and  Flynt,  the  oldest  tutor  of  the  College,  a  Latin 
oration.  In  those  testimonies  of  contemporaneous  re- 
spect and  affection,  the  general  features  of  his  char- 
acter are  sketched  with  a  truth  and  accuracy,  which 
are  justified  by  the  impressions  derived  from  the  his- 
tory of  the  times  and  of  the  College. 

President  Wadsworth  was  born  in  1669,  and  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1690.  He  selected 
the  ministry  for  his  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  held  the 
relation  of  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston  from 
1696  until  his  transfer  to  the  College,  in  1725.  His 
talents  were  solid  rather  than  brilliant,  and  adapted  for 
service  more  than  display.  Many  of  his  sermons  were 
published,  and  remain  to  evidence  the  character  of  his 
intellectual  efforts.  They  are  plain,  practical,  and 
scriptural.  Being  argumentative  and  without  orna- 
ment, their  interest  is  the  effect  of  the  truth,  earnest- 
ness, and  zeal  they  display.  Neither  a  bigot  nor  an 
enthusiast,  and  destitute  of  all  ambition  to  shine  or 


404 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  to  lead,  he  avoided  controversy.  While  he  thought 
xvm'  and  acted  with  the  liberal  part  of  the  clergy,  he  was 
lauded  during  his  life,  and  claimed,  after  his  death, 
by  the  stricter  sect ;  a  fate  common  to  those  who 
are  not  ardent  in  temperament,  and  free  from  the 
spirit  of  party  proselytism.  In  religion,  as  in  politics, 
zealots  ever  reckon  men  of  this  character  among  their 
number,  especially  "  after  death  has  opened  the  gate 
of  fame  and  extinguished  envy." 

President  Wadsworth  was  fifty-six  years  old  when 
he  accepted,  reluctantly,  the  chair  of  the  College. 
His  health  began  to  fail  soon  after  he  entered  upon 
its  duties,  which  were  performed,  however,  to  general 
acceptance,  under  all  the  disadvantages  of  bodily  in- 
firmity. His  conduct  in  their  discharge  was  marked 
by  firmness,  prudence,  and  judgment.  Faithful  to 
every  trust,  kind  to  all,  calm,  cautious,  moderate,  self- 
possessed,  and  affectionate,  he  left  a  name  precious  to 
his  own,  and  appreciated  highly  by  after  times. 


PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE,  BUILT  IN  1726. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  405 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


Benefactors  of  the  College.  —  John  Hull.—  Samuel  Se  wall.  —  Richard 
Sprague.  —  Thomas  Brattle.  —  William  Brattle.  —  William  Brown.— 
Joseph  Brown,  William  Brown,  and  Benjamin  Brown.  —  Samuel  Brown. 

—  John  and  William  Brown.  —  Edmund  Brown.  —  Gurdon  Saltonstall. 

—  Mary  Saltonstall.  —  Dorothy    Saltonstall.  —  John  Frizell,  and  John 
Frizell,  his  Ne'phew.  —  John  Walley.—  Ephraim  Flynt.  —  Henry  Gibbs. 

—  Ezekiel  Rogers.  —  Thomas  Cotton.  —  Thomas  Hollis.  —  John  Hollis. 

—  Nathaniel  Hollis.  —  Thomas  Hollis,  the  second  Benefactor  of  that 
Name.  —  Exercises,  Studies,  Discipline,  and  Customs  of  the  College, 
during  the  Presidencies  of  Leverett  and  Wadsworth. 


have  now  arrived  at  a  period  of  colonial  history,    CHAPTER 
when  extended  commerce,  increased  population,  and  '  _ 

consequent  wealth,  changed  materially  the  general 
character  of  New  England.  The  severity  of  manners, 
the  staid  demeanor,  and  the  scriptural  phraseology 
of  the  early  emigrants  of  the  Puritan  sect  disappear- 
ed. But  their  principles  and  institutions,  their  love 
of  liberty,  and  their  stern  resistance  to  oppression  still 
continued  to  influence  the  character  and  fortunes  of 
their  descendants.  In  politics,  the  jealousy  of  the  cler- 
gy as  to  the  measures  of  the  English  hierarchy,  and 
that  of  the  statesmen  as  to  the  designs  of  the  English 
ministry,  raised  the  dread  of  transatlantic  control  into 
a  master  passion.  In  religion,  although  sects  multi- 
plied, controversy  diminished  and  its  bitterness  mode- 
rated. Before  tracing  the  influence  of  this  change 
on  Harvard  College,  gratitude  demands  that  we  again 


406  HISTORY    OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   turn  our  thoughts  towards  those  generous  spirits,  not 
!__  yet  commemorated,  who  encouraged  or  aided  the  pro- 
gress of  the  institution  by  their  bounty. 

John  HUH.  The  earliest  of  these  benefactors  was  John  Hull, 
who,  in  1681,  gave  to  the  College  one  hundred  pounds, 
Massachusetts  currency.  This  donation  was  proba- 
bly made  in  his  lifetime,  as  he  died  intestate  in  1683.* 
By  persevering  industry,  great  talents  for  business, 
and  strict  integrity,  he  acquired  the  confidence  of  his 
contemporaries,  rose  from  poverty  and  a  low  estate  to 
great  affluence,  was  elected  Treasurer  of  the  colony 
in  1676,  and  an  Assistant  from  1680  to  1683.  In 
1652,  when  the  government  of  Massachusetts  deter- 
mined to  assume  the  prerogative  of  the  crown,  and 
coin  money  for  the  currency  of  the  country,  Mr.  Hull 
was  appointed  master  of  the  mint ;  which  was  built 
upon  his  land.  The  General  Court,  inviting  all  the 
inhabitants  to  bring  in  Spanish  coin,  bullion,  and  plate, 
contracted  to  allow  Mr.  Hull  one  in  every  twenty 
shillings  for  his  services  in  coining.!  Perceiving 
afterwards  that  he  had  too  advantageous  a  contract, 
they  offered  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to 
relinquish  it,  which  he  refused,  and  soon  accumu- 
lated a  fortune,  second  to  none  of  domestic  creation 
in  that  age,  in  New  England.  His  only  child  married 
Samuel  Sewall,  afterwards  Chief  Justice,  and  brought 
to  him  in  dowry,  as  was  commonly  reported,  says 
Hutchinson,  "  thirty  thousand  pounds,  in  New  Eng- 
land shillings."!  By  this  marriage  Sewall  became 
one  of  the  most  wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  colony. 


*  Farmer's  Genealogical  Record  of  the  first  Settlers  in  Massachu- 
setts, art.  Hull. 

t  Records  of  the  General  Court. 

$  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  p.  164,  note. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  407 

On  the. 24th  of  June,  1696,  Samuel  Sewall,  and  CHAPTER 
Hannah,  his  wife,  gave  by  deed  to  Harvard  College,  a 
farm  of  five  hundred  acres,  being  a  portion  of  a  large 
tract  of  land  purchased  by  John  Hull  in  the  Narragan- 
set  country,  and  called  the  Petaquamscot  purchase  ;  * 
the  incomes  or  profits  of  which  he  appropriated  to 
"  the  support  and  education  at  the  College,  of  youths, 
whose  parents  may  not  be  of  sufficient  ability  to  main- 
tain them  there,  especially  such  as  should  be  sent 
from  Petaquamscot,  English  or  Indians." 

In  recent  times  it  has  been  sold,  and  the  interest  of 
the  proceeds  constitutes  an  important  part  of  the  funds 
of  the  College  for  the  benefit  of  needy  and  meritorious 
students,  to  which  object  it  is  scrupulously  applied. 

Samuel  Sewall  was  born  in  England  in  1652,  came 
with  his  father  to  Massachusetts,  in  1661,  and  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1671.  He  studied 
divinity,  became  a  tutor  at  the  College  in  1674,  and 
a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  In  1676,  after  acquiring 
a  fortune  by  marriage,  he  quitted  both  employments, 
and  entered  the  career  of  politician  and  jurist ;  a  transi- 
tion not  violent  under  a  constitution  founded  upon  re- 
ligion. In  1684  he  was  chosen  a  magistrate,  and  in 
1690  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  with 
William  Stoughton,  to  meet  those  of  the  United 
Colonies  at  Albany.f 

By  the  nomination  of  Increase  Mather  he  became, 
in  1692,  one  of  the  first  Council  under  the  charter  of 
William  and  Mary ;  an  office  which  he  retained,  by  suc- 
cessive annual  elections,  until  he  declined  it  in  1725. 
He  was  constituted  one  of  the  special  justices  in 
the  commission  for  the  trial  of  witchcraft,  of  which 

*  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,   Vol.  V.  p.  217. 
t  Ibid.,  Vol.  VIII.  Second  Series,  p.  233. 


408  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  William  Stoughton  was  Chief  Justice.  Having  been 
— . — ! —  deeply  implicated  in  the  transactions  consequent  on 
that  delusion,  he  was  awakened  to  a  conviction  of  the 
guilt  of  those  proceedings  by  the  returning  sense  of 
the  community,  and  reduced  his  sorrow  and  repent- 
ance into  the  form  of  a  confession,  which,  agreeably 
to  the  church  discipline  of  the  period,  his  clergyman, 
Mr.  Willard,  read  publicly  in  full  assembly  at  the 
South  Church,  on  fast  day,  Mr.  Sewall  standing  up  in 
his  pew  during  the  ceremony.  A  species  of  humilia- 
tion, to  which  William  Stoughton,  being  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  Province  through  favor  of  the  crown,  and 
less  affected  by  the  vibrations  of  popular  opinion,  re- 
fused to  submit,  saying,  "  that  -he  saw  no  cause  for 
any  public  acknowledgment  of  error,  as,  when  he  sat 
in  judgment,  he  had  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes, 
and  gave  his  opinion  according  to  the  best  of  his 
understanding."* 

In  1715  Mr.  Sewall  was  made  Judge  of  Probate  for 
the  County  of  Suffolk,  and  in  1718  was  raised  to  the 
office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Province,  which  he 
satisfactorily  sustained  until  his  resignation  in  1728, 
two  years  before  his  death. 

Chief  Justice  Sewall  was  learned,  according  to  the 
colonial  standard,  being  well  acquainted  with  the 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  assiduous  in  fulfilling  the 
duties  of  a  Christian  and  a  citizen,  liberal,  hospitable, 
sympathetic,  and  practically  wise  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Company 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians ; 
built  for  their  worship,  at  his  own  expense,  a  church 
at  Natick ;  and  made  some  laudable  exertions  to  ren- 

*  See  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  II.  p.  62. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  409 

der  the  practice  of  enslaving  negroes  odious,  writing    CHAPTER 
a  pamphlet  against,  it,  and  publicly  protesting  against  — 
the  lawfulness  of  the  traffic.     A    diligent   and  care- 
ful observer   of  passing    events,   he  kept  a  diary  for 
more  than  forty  years  of  a  life  spent  chiefly  in   the 
public  service.     This  curious  document  often  lifts  the 
veil  of  time  from  the  motives  of  men  and  parties,  and 
affords  means  of  estimating  the  actual  state  of  learning, 
morals,  and  piety  in  New  England  at  that  period,  far 
superior  to  those  furnished  by  general  history. 

Judge  Sewall's  doctrinal  faith  was  conformed  to  that 
of  the  strictest  sect  of  Calvinists  ;  and,  although  consti- 
tutionally of  a  candid  and  conciliatory  spirit,  he  firmly 
adhered  to  ancient  customs,  manners,  principles,  and 
doctrines,  and  resisted  every  innovation  with  earnest 
and  unquenchable  zeal.  Among  the  active  politicians 
of  his  age,  no  one  attained  higher  or  more  unvaried 
tokens  of  public  confidence,  and  time  has  disclosed 
no  circumstance  to  qualify  the  favorable  opinion  his 
contemporaries  formed  of  his  worth  and  his  virtues.* 

Richard  Sprague,  an  inhabitant  of  Charlestown,  is  Richard 
entitled  to  rank  high  among  the  benefactors  of  Har- 
vard College.  He  was  the  son  of  Ralph  Sprague, 
who  came  with  Governor  Endecott  to  Salem  in  1628, 
and  the  next  year  commenced  a  settlement  at  Charles- 
town.  Few  traces  remain  of  his  course  and  character. 
It  is  only  known  that  he  was  among  the  most  active 
and  useful  men  of  his  place  of  abode,  employed 
on  all  important  committees  of  the  town,  and  for 
many  years  was  its  Representative  in  the  General 
Court.  He  died  childless  in  1703,  and  bequeathed 


*  Allen's  and  Eliot's  Biographical  Dictionaries. —  Prince's  Funeral 
Sermon  on  the  Death  of  the  Honorable.  Samuel  Sewall. 
VOL.    I.  52 


10  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER   to^  the  College  three  hundred  pounds,  Massachusetts 

currency.     He  also  left  to  the  town  of  Charlestown 

the  reversion  of  a  house  and  land,  and  a  portion  of 
his  personal  estate,  the  proceeds  of  which  now  con- 
stitute an  important  part  of  the  Fund  for  the  Poor  in 
that  town. 

Thomas  Among  those  entitled  to  grateful  remembrance  for 

services  and  bounties  to  Harvard  College,  the  name 
of  Thomas  Brattle  is  conspicuous.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant of  Boston,  distinguished  for  opulence,  activity, 
and  talent,  and  for  the  zeal  and  readiness  with  which 
he  devoted  his  time,  wealth,  and  intellectual  power 
to  objects  of  private  benevolence  and  public  useful- 
ness. 

He  was  born  in  1657,  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1676,  and  died  in  1713,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six.  He  was  chosen  Treasurer  of  the  College  in 
1693,  and  held  that  office  twenty  years,  until  his 
death.  In  the  July  preceding  that  event,  he  caused 
the  settlement  he  had  made  with  his  predecessor,  in 
1693,  and  his  own  account  of  receipts  and  expen- 
ditures during  the  intervening  period,  to  be  entered 
on  the  records  of  the  Corporation ;  carefully  specify- 
ing the  particulars  of  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  the 
College,  with  the  incomes  of  both ;  thus  giving  the 
most  authentic  and  satisfactory  developement  of  its 
property  and  pecuniary  relations  at  that  early  period. 
Two  years  elapsed  after  his  death  before  a  successor 
was  appointed.  During  the  interval,  his  brother  and 
executor,  the  Rev.  William  Brattle,  at  the  solicitation 
of  the  Corporation,  took  upon  himself  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  finances  of  the  College.  By  the 
accounts  of  these  treasurers  it  appears,  that  Thomas 
Brattle  received,  in  1693,  from  John  Richards,  his 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  411 

» 

predecessor,    upwards    of  one  thousand  five  hundred   CHAPTER 

XIX 

and  fifty  pounds,  lawful  money,  personal  estate  of  the  ' — 

College,  and  a  real  estate  yielding  one  hundred  pounds 
annual  income  ;  and  that  William  Brattle,  his  execu- 
tor, delivered  over  to  John  White,  his  successor,  in 
1715,  nearly  three  thousand  eight  hundred  pounds, 
personal  estate,  and  a  real  estate,  yielding  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  pounds.  Such  was  the  accumulation 
of  the  property  of  the  College,  while  its  finances  were 
under  the  management  of  these  brothers. 

Thomas  Brattle  was  not  unmindful,  at  his  death, 
of  the  institution,  to  whose  prosperity  he  was  so 
assiduously  devoted  during  his  life.  He  bequeathed 
to  the  College  two  hundred  pounds,  Massachusetts 
currency,  and  devoted  its  income  to  the  advancement 
of  Mathematical  science  in  the  institution.  His  in- 
dependence of  the  strong  and  universal  prejudice, 
existing  at  that  day  in  New  England,  against  the  use 
of  instrumental  music  in  public  worship,  is  strikingly 
evidenced  by  the  following  clause  in  his  last  will. 
"  I  give,  dedicate,  and  devote  my  organ  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  God  in  the  said  Church  (Brattle  Street), 
if  this  shall  accept  thereof,  and  within  one  year  after 
my  decease  procure  a  sober  person  that  can  play  skil- 
fully thereon  with  a  loud  noise."  If  that  Church  re- 
fuse to  accept  the  gift,  he  then  bequeaths  the  instru- 
ment on  similar  terms  to  the  Church  of  England  in 
Boston.  If  this  refuse,  he  then  gives  it  to  Harvard 
College,  on  the  same  condition.  If  the  College  refuse 
the  organ,  he  bequeaths  it  to  his  brother,  the  Rev. 
William  Brattle.  His  affection  for  the  College  is  also 

O 

indicated  by  his  giving   "  half  a  crown  to  every  stu- 
dent belonging  to  it,  who  should  attend  his  funeral." 
Thomas  Brattle  was  distinguished  among  his  con- 


412  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  temporaries  for  his  intellectual  powers  and  scientific  at- 
'  tainments.  Judge  Sewall  thus  writes  concerning  him, 
in  a  letter  dated  on  the  18th  of  May,  1713,  it  being 
the  day  of  Mr.  Brattle's  death.  "  We  are  in  danger 
of  losing  Mr.  Thomas  Brattle,  who  is  a  great  orna- 
ment to  our  College,  on  account  of  his  eminent  learn- 
ing, especially  in  the  Mathematics.  He  is  also  very 
useful  as  their  treasurer,  very  serviceably  and  excel- 
lently performing  that  office."  Among  the  transactions 
of  the  Royal  Society,  in  London,  is  a  communication, 
entitled  "  Observatio  Eclipsis  Lunaris  peracta  Bostonii 
Novanglorum,  die  quinto  Aprilis,  vespere,  A.  D.  1707, 
a  Tho.  Brattle."  Bailey,  in  his  supplement  to  the 
account  of  Flamsteed,  states,  that  "  Mr.  Thomas 
Brattle,  of  Boston  in  New  England,  is  the  anony- 
mous person  alluded  to  by  Newton,  in  his  Principia, 
as  having  made  such  good  observations  of  the  comet 
of  1680." 

The    views  of  Mr.  Brattle    were    enlightened    and 

o 

enlarged,  and  in  his  religious  opinions  he  was  catholic 
and  liberal.  His  connexion  with  the  Brattle-Street 
Church  is  indicated  by  its  location  and  name.  He 
was  one  of  its  earliest  founders,  continued  through  life 
among  its  firmest  supporters,  and  was  of  consequence 
involved  in  the  ecclesiastical  controversy,  which  origi- 
nated in  the  secession  of  that  church  from  the  Cam- 
bridge Platform.  Like  other  congenial  minds,  he  was 
stigmatized  in  the  party  heats  of  the  time,  as  an 
"  apostate  "  and  "  infidel  "  ;  but  his  mind  and  labors, 
devoted  to  science  and  religious  liberty,  have  shed 
upon  his  memory  a  light,  which  has  survived  all  record 
and  tradition  of  the  calumnies  which  assailed  his  name 
and  influence. 

The  account  written  by  Mr.  Brattle  of  the  "  witch- 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  413 

craft  delusion,"  and  of  the  judicial  trials  and  execu-   CHAPTER 

tions  at  Salem  for  that  pretended  crime,  is  one  of  the  ! 

most  interesting  and  illustrative  productions  of  the 
period,  and  highly  honorable  to  his  sagacity  and  fore- 
sight. It  was  written  in  October,  1692,  at  the 
very  moment,  when  that  destructive  delusion  was 
at  its  height,  and  the  terror  of  being  "  accused  by 
the  afflicted,"  in  full  sway ;  when  the  special  com- 
missioners had  just  finished  their  first  tragic  session;* 
when  fifty,  confessing  themselves  guilty  of  witchcraft, 
besides  many  others  accused  of  it,  were  in  prison,  and 
another  session  of  the  commissioners  was  approach- 
ing, in  which  a  renewal  of  the  same  appalling  scenes 
was  anticipated  ;  when  the  writer  himself  could  not 
express  his  opinion  upon  the  passing  events  without 
"  fear  lest  his  freedom  should  bring  him  into  a  snare. "f 
Under  circumstances  thus  critical,  Thomas  Brattle 
wrote  a  letter,  in  which  he  declares  his  determina- 
tion to  make  "  a  very  open  communication  of  my 
thoughts,  and  in  plain  terms  to  tell  what  my  opinion 
is  of  these  proceedings."!  He  then  with  great  clear- 
ness exposes  and  reprobates  the  nature  of  the  examin- 
ation, the  form  of  the  indictment,  the  irrelevancy  of 
the  admitted  evidence,  the  guilt  of  the  accusers,  the 
innocency  of  those  already  condemned  and  executed, 
and  the  madness  and  iniquity  of  the  course  pursued. 
His  remarks  are  acute  and  conclusive,  exhibiting  firm- 
ness and  self-possession,  and  a  mind  elevated  above 
the  agitated  chaos  of  the  time.  He  comments  se- 
verely on  the  partiality  of  the  judges,  and  on  the  in- 
fatuation of  "  the  civil  leaders  and  spiritual  teachers, 

*  See    above,   p.  64. 

t  See  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  V.  p.  61. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  62. 


414  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   and  of  those  who  profess  high,  and  pass  among  us  for 

YfY 

! —  some  of  the  better  sort;  who,  instead  of  punishing 

and  preaching  down  such  sorcery  and  wickedness,  do 
allow  of,  encourage,  yea,  practise  this  very  abomina- 
tion." * 

He  then  proceeds  to  foretell,  wrhat  soon  became 
history,  that  "  the  justices  and  judges,  or  any  else  con- 
cerned in  these  matters,  will  not  be  able  soon  to  look 
back  upon  these  things  without  the  greatest  sorrow 
and  grief  imaginable."  f  He  does  not  hesitate  to 
speak,  in  terms  implying  reprobation,  of  "  the  zeal  and 
impatience"  displayed  by  "the  Chief  Judge"  (Stough- 
ton)  in  these  trials,  and  to  express  his  "  fear,  that 
wisdom  and  counsel  are  withheld  from  him  in  this 
matter."  Although  this  letter  was  not  published  at 
the  time  it  was  written,  it  is  an  honorable  testimony 
to  the  clearness  and  independence  of  his  judgment, 
and  his  regard  for  justice  and  truth. 

William  Brattle,  the  younger  brother  of  Thomas, 
was  alike  eminent  for  liberality,  talent,  and  literary 
acquirements.  He  was  born  in  Boston  in  1662,  and 
was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1680.  In  1686 
he  was  appointed  tutor  in  the  College,  at  the  same 
time  with  John  Leverett.  They  were  the  principal 
instructors  in  the  institution  for  ten  years  succeeding, 
during  four  of  which  President  Mather  was  absent  in 
Europe.  Mr.  Brattle  was  chosen  pastor  of  the  Church 
in  Cambridge  in  1696,  and,  the  Corporation  of  the 
College  carefully  state  on  their  records,  that  "  they 
unanimously  concurred  with  the  Church  of  Cambridge 
in  their  invitation  of  the  Rev.  William  Brattle  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  in  that  church."  When  Lieu- 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  V.  p  70.  f  Ibid,,  p.  74. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY  415 

tenant-Governor    Stoughton  reorganized    the    govern-   CHAPTER 

ment  of  the  institution  in  October,  1696,*  on  the  oc-  '- — 

casion  of  the  negative  of  the  College  charter  by  the 
King,  he  appointed  William  Brattle  a  member  of  the 
Corporation.  He  held  his  seat  in  that  board  until 
July,  1700,  when  he  was  excluded  by  the  act  passed 
under  the  influence  of  President  Mather.f  In  August, 
1703,  he  was  reinstated  by  the  influence  of  Governor 
Dudley  and  Vice-President  Willard,J  and  retained  his 
place  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  year 
1717,  in  the  fifty-fourth  of  his  age. 

William  Brattle  was  alike  respected  as  a  man,  a 
scholar,  and  a  divine.  His  manners  were  urbane  and 
polished ;  and,  although  his  habits  of  life  were  studious 
and  retired,  he  was  yet  skilful  in  business,  and  de- 
voted to  the  duties  of  his  profession.  After  the  death 
of  his  brother,  at  the  request  of  the  Corporation,  he 
took  the  office  of  Treasurer,  and  during  two  years 
managed  the  financial  concerns  of  the  College  with 
fidelity  and  success.  While  engaged  in  the  super- 
intendence of  the  seminary,  he  blended  a  tutor's  dis- 
cipline with  a  parent's  tenderness.  At  that  period 
the  small-pox  was  an  object  of  universal  terror.  In- 
oculation had  not  then  been  introduced,  and  flight 
was  the  only  refuge  of  those  who  were  liable  to  the 
disorder.  Mr.  Brattle,  though  not  secure  from  the 
disease  when  it  appeared  in  the  College,  instead  of 
abandoning  his  post,  remained  firm  and  unterrified ; 
visited  the  sick  students,  administered  to  them,  and 
personally  contributed  to  their  comfort  and  convales- 
cence. When  suffering  himself  under  the  disease,  the 
fearlessness  of  his  mind  proved  the  best  preservative 

*  See  above,  p.  82.  f  Ibid.,  p.  106.  J  Ibid.,  p.  150. 


416  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   from    its    malignity,    and    he    was    soon    restored    to 

XIX 

. ! health  and  his  duties.  This  heroism  endeared  him  to 

the  students,  and  he  received  from  them,  by  common 
consent,  the  name  of  "  Father  of  the  College."  At 
his  death  he  bequeathed  to  the  beneficiary  fund  of  the 
institution  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  Massachu- 
setts currency.  His  other  bounties  were  numerous, 
Charity  was  with  him  a  principle  rather  than  an 
impulse,  his  fortune  being  large  and  his  liberality 
proportionate.  He  was  not  merely  a  patron  of  litera- 
ture ;  he  was  himself  a  man  of  science,  and  as  such 
was  admitted  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Lon- 
don, a  distinction  not  easily  obtained  by  a  colonist. 
His  publications  were  few.  The  only  one  now  known 
is  a  treatise  upon  logic,  written  originally  in  Latin, 
which  was  used  many  years  in  the  College  as  a  text- 
book, and  came  to  a  second  edition  in  1758.* 

Few  divines  of  that  period  have  obtained  a  purer 
or  more  desirable  reputation.  He  mingled  little  in 
controversy,  and  never  troubled  himself  or  others  with 
unprofitable  speculations,  or  with  metaphysical  theol- 
ogy. Deeply  impressed  with  the  truth  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, he  sought  in  them  the  rule  of  life  and  duty ; 
led  in  the  way  of  religion  by  the  force  and  attraction  of 
his  example  ;  and  stood  aloof  from  words  which  darken 
counsel  and  obscure  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel. 

He  early  deviated  from  some  of  the  ancient  prac- 
tices of  the  churches  in  New  England.  Under  his 
influence,  and  soon  after  his  settlement,  as  we  have 
already  stated,f  a  formal,  public  relation  of  religious 
experiences  ceased  to  be  required  in  the  church  at 


«  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  VII.  pp.  82,  55. 
t  See  above,   p.  89. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  417 

Cambridge,  as  a  qualification  for  membership,  the  CHAPTER 
examination  of  the  candidate  was  intrusted  to  the  — 
pastor  and  elders,  and  the  consent  of  the  church  to 
admission  was  signified  by  silence  instead  of  a  hand 
vote.  These  were  all  deemed  dangerous  innovations 
by  those  attached  to  the  early  order  and  practice  of 
the  New  England  churches,  and  were  in  fact  precur- 
sors of  that  schism,  which,  under  the  auspices  of  his 
elder  brother,  eventuated  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Brattle-Street  Church  in  Boston,  and  the  divisions 
which  ensued  among  the  Congregational  clergy. 

For  more  than  half  a  century,  the  family  of  Brown 
stands  distinguished  among  those,  whose  continued 
bounty  to  Harvard  College  assumes  the  aspect  of  an 
inheritable  quality.  Eight  of  that  name  are  entitled 
to  grateful  remembrance.  Seven  of  them  were  in- 
habitants of  Salem,  and  held  the  relation  to  each 
other  of  father,  sons,  grandsons,  and  great-grandsons. 
William  Brown,  the  head  of  the  family,  has  been  al-  wniiam 
ready  the  subject  of  notice.*  He  emigrated  in  1635, 
from  Brandon,  in  Suffolk,  England,  to  Salem,  where  he 
acquired  wealth,  public  confidence,  and  general  esteem. 
For  several  years  he  was  Representative  from  Salem 
in  the  General  Court,  afterwards  was  appointed  an 
Assistant,  and  finally  one  of  the  Council,  in  1687, 
during;  the  administration  of  Andros.  He  died  in 

c5 

1688,  highly  esteemed  for  his  usefulness  and  example 
as  a  private  citizen,  and  honored  in  his  public  station 
for  his  judgment  and  knowledge  in  commercial  affairs, 
and  for  his  practical  political  skill.  His  charities  were 
his  crowning  glory.  To  Harvard  College  he  gave 
forty  pounds  in  his  lifetime,  and  one  hundred  pounds 


*  See    above,  p.  181. 

VOL.  i.  53 


418  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   by    bequest.     The    public   institutions  of   Salem  and 

XIX 

-  Charlestown  were  also  largely  indebted  to  his  bounty.* 
In  this  munificence  he  was  emulated  by  his  descend- 
ants.f 

Joseph  Joseph  Brown,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  graduated 

at  the  College  in  1666.  He  died  in  early  manhood, 
before  his  father,  in  the  year  1678.  Partaking  of  his 
spirit,  he  bequeathed  for  the  use  of  his  alma  mater 
one  hundred  pounds,  and  also  fifty  pounds  in  books 
for  the  library.  He  was  destined  for  the  sacred  desk, 
and  had  received,  just  before  his  death,  an  invitation 
to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  in  Charlestown. 

William          His  brother,    William   Brown,  was  born  in   1639, 

Brown.  «        i     i  «        /«     i  i  T  •        i  « 

survived  his  father,  and,  treading  in  his  steps,  was 
successful  as  a  merchant,  and  in  attaining  public  con- 
fidence as  a  Representative  in  the  General  Court,  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  Safety  in  1689,  and  a  coun- 
sellor under  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary.  After 
a  long  life  of  honor  and  usefulness,  he  died  in  1716,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-seven,  leaving  to  the  College  a 
legacy  of  one  hundred  pounds,  currency  of  Massachu- 
setts. 

Benjamin  Benjamin  Brown,  a  younger  brother,  was  born  in 
1648,  and  died  in  1708,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  con- 
cerning the  course  of  whose  life  and  fortunes  no 
record  remains.  By  his  last  will  he  also  bequeathed 
a  legacy  of  two  hundred  pounds  to  Harvard  College. 

Samuel  Samuel,  son  of  William  Brown,  last  mentioned,  was 

born  in  1669,  and  died  in  1731,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
two.  He  emulated  the  beneficence  of  his  father,  un- 
cles, and  grandfather,  and,  enlarging  the  measure  of 


*  Donation  Book,  Vol.  I.  pp.  15,  23. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  VI.  p,  287. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  419 

his  bounty  to  the  College,  bequeathed,  in  aid    of  its   CHAPTER 

beneficiary  funds  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  

for  general  purposes  sixty  pounds,  and,  in  addition,  a 
house  and  a  valuable,  well-stocked  farm  in  Hopk-inton, 
consisting  of  two  hundred  acres.* 

In  a  later  period,  John  Brown  and  William  Brown,  John  and 
great-grandchildren   of    the   first    benefactor   of   that  Brown"1 
name,  were  among  the  liberal  subscribers  in  books  and 
money  for  repairing  the  loss  sustained  in  1764,  by  the 
burning  of  Harvard  Hall,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
library  it  contained.! 

Edmund  Brown,  another  benefactor,  who  bequeathed  Edmund 

*       .  Brown. 

a  legacy  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  the  College,  is  not 
known  to  have  been  related  to  the  Salem  family  of 
that  name.  He  emigrated  from  England  to  Massa- 
chusetts in  1637,  became  the  first  minister  of  Sudbury 
in  1640,  and  died  in  1677.  He  was  exemplary  in  his 
life,  and  attained  professional  distinction.  There  is 
some  doubt  whether  the  College  ever  derived  any 
benefit  from  this  legacy ;  but  the  debt  of  gratitude  to 
his  memory  is  not  the  less  due,  since  the  intention 
was  direct,  and  his  property  ample.  He  adopted  one 
Samuel  Gofife  as  his  son  and  heir,  and  made  him  his 
executor.  To  him  Mr.  Brown  bequeathed  a  large 
real  estate,  on  the  condition  of  paying  to  Harvard 
College,  within  two  years  after  his  decease,  one  hun- 
dred pounds,  current  money  of  New  England.  This 
condition  Goffe  failed  to  fulfil.  A  suit  in  chancery 
was  the  consequence,  and  the  College  obtained  and 
levied  an  execution  on  the  land,  but,  for  some  cause, 
without  any  beneficial  result. 


*  College  Book,  No.  IV.,  pp.  6,  9,  12. 
t  Donation  Book,  Vol.  I.  pp.  23,  65,  67. 


420 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER 
XIX. 


Gurdon 
Saltonstall. 


The  family  of  the  Saltonstalls  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  number  among  the  earliest  and  most  liberal 
patrons  of  the  College.*  Gurdon,  great-grandson  of 
the  first  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  supported  the  char- 
acter of  the  family,  and  extended  the  obligations  of 
the  institution  to  this  distinguished  name.  Gurdon 
Saltonstall  was  born  at  Haverhill  in  1666,  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1684,  became  a  popular  and  suc- 
cessful preacher,  and  in  1691  was  ordained  pastor  over 
the  Congregational  church  in  New  London,  Connecti- 
cut. On  all  momentous  occasions  he  was  resorted  to 
as  an  oracle,  and  on  the  death  of  Fitz  John  Winthrop, 
in  1707,  both  clergy  and  laity  united  to  call  him  from 
the  care  of  a  church  to  the  chair  of  state.  By  the 
law  of  Connecticut  the  people  were  restricted  in  the 
choice  of  Governor  to  the  magistrates  then  in  nomi- 
nation. To  remove  this  obstacle  to  his  election,  the 
Assembly  of  the  colony,  in  1708,  repealed  the  restric- 
tive law,  and  the  ensuing  year  Gurdon  Saltonstall  was 
chosen  Governor,  and  was  continued  in  that  office  by 
successive  elections  for  sixteen  years,  until  his  death 
in  1724.  In  all  the  relations  of  public  and  private 
life  he  was  faithful  and  exemplary.  In  the  attributes 
of  public  spirit  and  benevolence  he  was  not  surpassed 
by  any  of  his  contemporaries,  among  whom  he  at- 
tained the  highest  rank  as  a  divine,  orator,  and  states- 
man. 

Gurdon  Saltonstall  bequeathed  by  will  one  hundred 
pounds,  lawful  money,  to  Harvard  College  ;  thus  emu- 
lating the  example  of  Mary  Saltonstall,  his  wife,  who, 
the  year  previous,  had  made  a  donation  of  a  like  sum 
from  her  own  private  estate. 


*  See  above,  p.  163. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  421 

Mary    Saltonstall    survived  her   husband  six  years,   CHAPTER 

XIX. 

and  by  her  last  will  bequeathed,  in  1730,  one  thousand  - 
pounds  to  the  College,  for  educating  young  men  "  of  tonstaii. 
bright  parts  and  good  diligence  for  the  service  of  the 
Christian  church."     By  the  same  instrument  she  made 
noble  and  judicious  legacies  for  the  advancement  of 
learning  and  religion,  and  for  charitable  purposes. 

Uniting  exemplary  piety  and  enlarged  charity  with 
a  highly  cultivated  mind,  she  filled  the  high  station,  to 
which  she  was  called,  with  prudence  and  dignity. 
By  her  contemporaries  she  is  celebrated  for  the  graces 
which  adorn,  and  the  virtues  which  are  the  honor  of, 
human  nature.* 

To   Dorothy    Saltonstall,    who   died    in    1733,   the  Dorothy 

J  .  .  Saltonstall. 

College  is  indebted  for  a  liberal  bequest.  This  lady 
derived  her  fortune  from  her  first  husband,  John  John 
Frizell,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Boston,  who  was 
himself  a  benefactor  to  the  institution.  The  dona- 
tion books  of  the  College  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  as  a  legacy  from 
him  ;  but  some  obscurity  rests  upon  his  bounty,  as 
no  record  has  yet  been  found  of  a  will,  nor  is  there 
any  account  of  the  authority  under  which  the  donation 
was  received.  His  widow  married  Nathaniel  Salton- 
stall, and,  having  by  her  marriage  contract  reserved  to 
herself  the  power  of  disposing  of  her  own  estate,  be- 
queathed three  hundred  pounds  to  Harvard  College, 
and  other  legacies  to  pious  and  charitable  uses.  Her 
benevolence  and  intellectual  power  are  respectfully 
and  honorably  noticed  in  the  records  of  that  period. 

John  Frizell,   nephew  of  the  last-mentioned  bene-  John 
factor,   was   a   successful   merchant   of    Boston,    and 


*  Allen's  Biog,  Diet.— New  England  Journal,  26th  January,  1729-80. 


422  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   is  also  entitled    to    grateful    remembrance.     He  died 

YfY 

_  —  in  1730,  and  by  his  will  left  two  hundred  .and  fifty 
pounds  to  the  College.  There  remains  no  record  or 
tradition  concerning  his  life,  except  of  his  wealth 
and  his  bounties. 

John  Walley,  by  a  bequest  of  one  hundred  pounds 
to  the  College,  became  another  benefactor,  and  di- 
rected the  amount  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of 
"  scholars  devoted  to  the  ministry."  He  came  to  this 
country  in  1662,  with  his  father,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Walley,  a  clergyman,  ejected  for  non-conformity,  and 
was  continually  employed  in  offices  of  honor  and  trust 
during  the  residue  of  his  life.  In  1671  and  1684  he 
was  a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  to  codify 
the  Plymouth  Colony  laws.  In  1687  he  was  member 
from  Plymouth,  in  the  Council  of  Andros,  and  in  1697 
had  the  command  of  the  land  forces  in  the  unsuccess- 
ful expedition  against  Canada.  His  Journal  is  pre- 
served by  Hutchinson,*  and  is  the  most  authentic  ac- 
count, now  extant,  of  the  transactions  of  the  invading 
force.  Under  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary  he 
was  appointed  Counsellor  in  1692.  In  1700  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  Associate  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Province,  which  he  resigned  in 
1711.  He  died  in  1712,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight. 
The  constancy  and  importance  of  his  public  employ- 
ments indicate  the  confidence  of  his  contemporaries 
in  his  talents  and  virtues.  He  was  subjected,  like  all 
unsuccessful  commanders,  to  the  suspicion  of  miscon- 
duct. But,  although  he  solicited  an  investigation,  none 
was  granted.  Public  opinion  finally  settled  into  a  firm 
conviction,  that  the  causes  of  the  failure  were  in- 


*  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.,  Vol.  I.  p.  470. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  423 


sufficiency  of  preparation,  and  ignorance  of  the  diffi-   CHAPTER 
culty  of  the  attempt,  rather  than  want  of  courage  and 
talent  in  the  commander. 

Ephraim  Flynt  of   Concord,    by  his  last  will,   be- 


queathed  to  the  College  one  hundred  pounds,  Massa- 
chusetts currency,  the  income  to  be  applied  for  the 
benefit  of  scholars,  "  who  are  studious,  well  disposed, 
and  need  help."*  He  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Flynt,  of  that  place,  was  born  in  1642,  and  died  in 
1723,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one.  Of  the  particulars 
of  his  life  nothing  has  been  ascertained. 

The  Rev.  Henry   Gibbs,  pastor   of  the    church  at  Henry 

J  '   ,r  Gibbs. 

Watertown,  also  gave,  by  his  last  will,  dated  on  the 
26th  of  December,  1722,  one  hundred  pounds  to  the 
College.  He  was  born  in  1668,  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  in  1685,  ordained  at  Watertown  in  1697, 
and  died  in  1723.  He  was  regarded  by  his  contem- 
poraries among  the  eminent  clergymen  of  the  period  ; 
and  he  is  ranked  by  Dr.  Barnard  among  those,  who 
were  "  men  of  learning,  pious,  humble,  prudent,  faith- 
ful, and  useful,  in  their  day."f 

The  Rev.  Ezekiel  Rogers,  of  Rowley,  is  entitled  Ezekiel 

*  Rogers. 

to  remembrance,  among  the  earliest  benefactors  of 
Harvard  College  ;  but  his  donation  was  contingent, 
and  the  event  on  which  it  depended  did  not  occur 
until  many  years  after  his  decease.  His  father,  the 
Rev.  Richard  Rogers^  was  a  distinguished  Puritan 
minister  at  Wethersfield,  in  Essex,  England,  at  which 
place  Ezekiel  Rogers  was  born  in  1590.  After  being 
graduated  at  Cambridge,  he  entered  the  family  of 
Sir  Francis  Barrington,  as  chaplain,  and  from  his  in- 


*  Donation  Book,  Vol.  I.  p.  243. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  X.  p.  170. 


424  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  -fluence  obtained  the  benefice  of  Rowley,  and  became 

IffY 

! eminent  for  his  professional  zeal  and  oratorical  talents  ; 

but,  soon  rendering  himself  obnoxious,  he  was  per- 
secuted for  his  non-conformity,  and  emigrated  with  a 
portion  of  his  congregation  to  Massachusetts  in  1638. 
Here  they  purchased  a  tract  of  land  from  the  towns 
of  Newbury  and  Ipswich,  and  gave  the  name  of 
Rowley,  the  place  of  their  former  residence  in  Eng- 
land, to  their  new  plantation. 

In  the  early  struggle  between  the  magistrates  and! 
ministers  for  power  and  influence,  Mr.  Rogers  joined 
the  party  of  the  latter,  and  became  obnoxious  to 
Winthrop  and  Dudley,  by  telling  the  people,  that  no 
governor  ought  to  be  continued  more  than  a  year, 
and  by  coinciding  in  the  views  of  John  Cotton,  who 
endeavoured  to  prove  from  Numbers  xxvii.  21,  and 
other  texts,  that  "  the  priesthood  ought  to  be  consulted 
by  the  'magistrates,  not  only  before  they  went  to  war, 
but  in  every  thing  appertaining  to  the  affairs  of  the 
Commonwealth."  * 

He  is  characterized  by  Johnson,  in  his  "  Wonder- 
working Providence,"  as  a  "judicious  and  zealously 
affected  servant  of  the  Lord "  ;  and  his  people,  who 
came  with  him,  to  the  number  of  threescore  families, 
as  "  holy,  humble,  and  industrious ;  as  being  the  first 
who  set  up  the  making  of  cloth  in  this  western  world, 
building  a  fulling-mill,  and  causing  their  little  ones  to 
be  very  diligent  in  spinning  cotton  wool."f 

He  is  represented  by  Cotton  Mather,  as  "  very  ac- 
ceptable "  as  a  preacher,  "  exceedingly  successful," 
"  marvellously  profitable  to  the  young,"  "  being  a  tree 


*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  First  Series,  Vol.  IX.  p.  46. 
t  Ibid.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VII.  p.  12. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  425 

of  knowledge,  so  laden  with  fruit,  that  he  stooped  for   CHAPTER 

XIX 

the  very  children  to  pick  off  the  apples,  ready  to  drop  — - — — 
into  their  mouths."* 

In  his  old  age  Mr.  Rogers  entertained  very  melan- 
choly anticipations  concerning  the  degeneracy  of  the 
times.  "  I  tremble  to  think,"  he  writes  to  his  brother, 
"  what  will  become  of  the  glorious  work  we  have 
begun,  when  the  ancients  shall  be  gathered  unto  their 
fathers.  I  fear  grace  and  blessing  will  die  with  them. 
We  grow  worldly  everywhere.  Methinks  I  see  little 
godliness,  but  all  in  a  hurry  about  the  world  ;  every 
one  for  himself,  little  care  of  the  public  good."f 

Mr.  Rogers  was  distinguished  for  his  piety  and 
zeal.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was  subjected 
to  great  suffering,  and  died,  after  a  lingering  illness, 
in  January,  1661.  His  last  will,  dated  in  April, 
1660,  is  an  extraordinary  document,  and  contains  an 
outline  of  his  life  and  fortunes.  Among  the  blessings 
he  enumerates  as  causes  of  thankfulness,  are  his  being 
"  called  to  be  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  the  most 
glorious  calling  in  the  world,  in  the  time  of  the  hottest 
persecution  of  that  bloody  hierarchy,  and  that,  being 
enlightened  concerning  the  evil  and  the  snare  of  sub- 
scriptions and  ceremonies,  I  was  mercifully  prevented 
from  betaking  myself,  as  I  was  advised,  to  the  prac- 
tice of  physic ;  which,"  he  adds,  "  although  it  be  a 
good  and  necessary  calling,  I  have  observed  that  the 
most,  through  their  corruptions,  have  made  to  them- 
selves the  very  temptations  to  covetousness."  The 
will  then  proceeds  with  a  sketch  of  his  life,  until, 
"  being  suspended  for  refusing  to  read  that  accursed 
book,  that  allowed  sports  on  God's  holy  Sabbath,  I 


*  Magnalia,  Book  III.  chap.  13.  §  9.  f  Ibid.,  §  13. 

VOL.  i.  54 


426  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  was  driven  into  New  England,  to  seek  that  rest  and 

! comfort  in  the  way  of  the  churches  here,  which  I 

believe  to  be,  according  to  the  present  light  that  God 
hath  given,  the  purest  in  the  whole  world." 

"  Now,"  he  continues,  "  age  and  infirmities  calling 
upon  me  to  look  daily  for  my  change,  I  profess  my- 
self to  have  lived  and  to  die  an  unfeigned  hater  of 
all  the  base  opinions  of  the  Anabaptists  and  Antino- 
mians,  and  of  all  other  frantic  dotages  of  the  times 
that  spring  from  them.  I  do  also  protest  against  all 
the  evil  fashions  and  devices  of  this  age,  both  in 
apparel  and  that  general  disguisement  of  long,  rufrian- 
like  hair,  a  custom  most  generally  taken  up  at  that 
time,  when  the  grave  and  modest  wearing  of  hair 
was  a  part  of  the  reproach  of  Christ,  as  appeared  by 
the  term  *  round  head,'  and  was  carried  on  with  a  high 
hand,  notwithstanding  its  known  offence  to  so  many 
godly  persons." 

After  this  preamble,  and  bequests  to  his  wife  and 
other  relatives  and  friends,  he  gives  all  his  Latin  and 
some  English  books  to  Harvard  College  ;  and  to  the 
town  of  Rowley  several  large  portions  of  his  real 
estate,  upon  condition,  that  they  should  maintain  two 
teaching  elders  in  the  church  for  ever ;  and,  if  they  failed 
in  providing  themselves  at  any  time  within  four  years 
after  any  vacancy,  with  two  teaching  elders,  then  "  the 
abovesaid  housing  and  lands  shall  be  to  the  use  of 
Harvard  College." 

After  1696  the  church  and  town  of  Rowley  con- 
tinued more  than  four  years  without  two  teaching 
elders,  and  the  Corporation  of  the  College  took  pos- 
session of  the  lands,  and  after  some  trials  at  law 
maintained  their  title.  The  property  thus  acquired 
was  sold  in  1735,  and  the  proceeds  vested  in  an  estate 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UN1VERS1T1.  427 

in   Waltham,   which   has  recently   been    sold    for  five   CHAPTER 

XIX* 

thousand  dollars. 

Of  the  transatlantic  benefactors  of  the  College  at 
this  period,  next  to  Thomas  Hollis,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thomas 
Cotton  of  London  was  the  most  distinguished.  His 
gift,  in  1724,  of  four  hundred  pounds  sterling,  trans- 
mitted through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Hollis  to  Mr.  Col- 
man,  to  be  appropriated  at  his  discretion,*  for  the 
benefit  of  the  College,  has  been  already  noticed.  In 
a  letter  dated  on  the  26th  November,  1726,f  his  ap- 
proval of  the  application  of  that  donation  is  expressed. 
In  February,  1727,  he  added  another  gift  of  one  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling,  from  himself  and  Bridget  his 
wife,  directing  its  income  to  be  appropriated  to  the 
"  augmentation  of  the  President's  salary  for  the  time 
being."! 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Cotton  was  born  in  1653,  at 
Workley,  a  village  in  Yorkshire,  England,  and  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  from  which  he 
received  a  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  After  preaching 
for  a  short  time  with  great  acceptance  in  Liverpool, 
being  prevented  from  farther  exercising  his  talents  in 
the  ministry  by  the  persecution  against  non-conformists, 
he  passed  several  years  in  travelling  through  Europe. 
On  his  return  to  England  he  had  great  offers  made  to 
him,  if  he  would  join  the  national  church.  But,  "  upon 
the  maturest  consideration,  he  chose  to  take  his  lot 
with  the  Protestant  Dissenters." 

He  soon  after  married  a  lady  of  good  family,  who 


*  See  above,  p.  402. 

t  Preserved  among  Judge  Sewall's  Papers. 

I  Receipt  of  Treasurer  Hutchinson,  among  Judge  Sewall's  Papers. 


HISTORY   OF    HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   had  lately  come  from  New  England,  being  the  grand- 
IX'       daughter  of  Lord  Lisle,  and  the  daughter  of  Leonard 

o  *  o 

Hoar,  President  of  Harvard  College.  To  this  con- 
nexion may  be  attributed  the  deep  interest  taken  by 
Mr.  Cotton  in  the  seminary,  and  to  the  harmony  of 
its  catholic  and  liberal  spirit  with  his  own. 

He  was  settled  in  London,  and  in  1709  he  suf- 
fered great  pecuniary  loss  by  a  mob,  excited  by  Dr. 
Sacheverell's  trial,  for  which  he  could  obtain  no  re- 
dress. Upon  the  revival  of  the  disputes  in  the  west 
of  England,  in  1718,  relating  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  the  subsequent  transactions  which  led  to 
the  famous  synod  in  Sailers'  Hall,  he  became  one  of 
the  non-subscribing  ministers,  and  received,  on  ac- 
count of  his  liberality  and  Catholicism,  very  unkind 
and  censorious  treatment.  He  strongly  maintained 
that  great  Protestant  principle,  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  and  was  an  enemy  to  all  needless  subscrip- 
tions to  human  forms  in  matters  of  religion.  When 
some  of  the  Dissenters  used  him  ill  on  this  account, 
and  discovered  an  intolerant  disposition  towards  one 
another,  he  used  to  say,  "  they  had  not  seen  the  dra- 
goonings  and  persecutions  to  make  all  of  one  way,  in 
France,  as  he  had  done,"  intimating,  that,  if  they  had, 
they  would  be  more  candid  towards  each  other.  The 
self-command,  which  he  thus  evinced,  caused  him  lo 
be  respected  and  esteemed  by  those  who  continued 
to  differ  from  him  He  died  in  1730,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven.* 

Hoiiis.  At  this  period  the  name  of  Hollis  stands  preeminent 

on  the  records  of  the  College,  for  active  endeavours  lo 

*  Wilson's  History  of  the  Dissenting  Churches,  Vol.  IV.  p.  376. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  429 

promote  its  prosperity,  and  an  uninterrupted  succession   CHAPTER 
of  judicious  benefactions.  '  _ 

The  earliest  donations  of  Thomas  Hollis  have  been  Thomas 
already  the  subject  of  notice,*  and  other  evidences  of 
his  noble  and  faithful  spirit,  justly  denominated  "  un- 
paralleled and  unceasing  munificence,"!  will  be  ad- 
duced hereafter  in  connexion  with  the  Hollis  Profes- 
sorship of  Mathematics.  But  it  is  due  to  the  number 
and  character  of  his  benefactions,  and  to  their  happy 
influence  in  exciting  other  individuals  to  like  acts  of 
bounty,  to  relate  such  circumstances  of  his  life,  as  are 
not  elsewhere  recorded  in  this  work. 

Thomas  Hollis,  the  father  of  our  benefactor,  was 
born  in  the  year  1634,  and  died  in  1718,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four.  In  his  social  and  religious  affections, 
and  in  the  spirit  which  characterized  his  benevolence, 
we  see  the  archetype  of  those  qualities  which  distin- 
guished his  son,  "  not  delaying  doing  good  till  his 
death,"  "  not  confining  his  charity  to  a  party,"  "  living 
frugally,  that  he  might  have  wherewith  more  exten- 
sively to  express  his  goodness,"  "  in  various  methods 
being  publicly  useful,  by  distributing  books  to  en- 
courage religion  and  virtue,  by  promoting  schools  for 
the  instruction  of  the  poor,  by  erecting  and  found- 
ing two  churches,  an  almshouse,  and  two  schools,  con- 
tributing liberally  to  their  maintenance  during  life,  and 
bequeathing  for  their  encouragement  at  his  death." 
Such  is  the  character  of  his  virtues  drawn  by  a  con- 
temporary.:!: His  son  caught  and  wore  the  paternal 
mantle  with  a  ready  and  enduring  spirit.  The  bene- 

*  See  above,  pp.  186, 230. 

t  Treasurer  White's  Letter  to  President  Leverett,  June  10th,  1721. 
^  The  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hunt's  Sermon  occasioned  by  the  Death  of 
Thomas  Hollis,  p.  33.     London,  1718. 


430  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   factions  of  Thomas  Hollis  to  Harvard  College,  coin- 

XIX 

• —  menced  the  year  succeeding  his  father's  death.  Being 
then  about  sixty  years  of  age,  he  had  quitted  business, 
and  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  London  in  retirement, 
frugally  but  hospitably.  Regarding  himself  as  an 
almoner  of  Providence,  and  his  wealth  as  a  trust, 
he  constantly  sought  objects  of  just  and  useful  chari- 
ties. His  appointment  as  trustee  of  the  legacy  of 
Robert  Thorner  to  Harvard  College,*  first  turned 
his  thoughts  to  this  institution ;  and,  once  fixed, 
they  were  never  afterwards  withdrawn.  The  interest 
he  took  in  its  prosperity  was  general,  constant,  and 
unwavering.  Scarcely  a  ship  sailed  from  London, 
during  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  without  bearing 
some  evidence  of  his  affection  and  liberality.  Jn 
addition  to  his  greater  bounties,  he  was  in  the  practice 
of  transmitting,  almost  every  year,  trunks  of  books, 
generally  well  selected  and  valuable,  with  directions 
to  his  correspondent,  Dr.  Colman,  "  to  examine  them, 
take  out  for  the  College  such  as  its  library  had  not 
already,  and  to  give  the  rest  to  specified  individuals, 
or  to  such  young  ministers,  who  may  need  and  make 
a  good  use  of  them.  "  f  His  zeal  for  the  increase  of 
the  College  library  was  intense.  He  contributed  to 
it  liberally  himself,  and  was  urgent  in  soliciting  his 
friends  for  their  assistance.  Through  his  instru- 
mentality the  College  received  donations  of  books 
from  Isaac  Watts,  Daniel  Neal,  William  Harris, 
John  Hollis,  and  others.  He  first  suggested  to  the 
Corporation  the  want  of  a  catalogue,  which,  he  writes,! 
if  he  possessed,  he  should  be  able  materially  to  serve 


*  See  above,  p.  231.  f  Letter,  January  14th,  1721 

J  February  2d,  and  September  1st,  1722. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  431 

the  College,  since   many  were    deterred    from   send-   CHAPTER 

XIX. 

ing   books,  through  fear  that  they  might   be  already — 

in  the  library.  The  Corporation  immediately  ordered 
a  catalogue  to  be  prepared,  and,  when  it  was  com- 
pleted, sent  eight  dozen  copies  to  Hollis  for  distribu- 
tion, who,  in  a  postscript  to  a  letter  acknowledging 
the  receipt,  gives  the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom 
they  had  been  sent.  Finding,  on  perusing  the  cata- 
logue, that  "  numbers  of  useful  books  fitting  for 
such  a  library  were  wanting,"  he  proposed  to  the 
Company  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New 
England,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  to  apply  a 
hundred  pounds  sterling  for  the  "  valuable  purpose  of 
supplying  those  books."  "  I  have  read  over  the  char- 
ter," he  said  to  that  society,  "  and  I  think  you  may. 
You  send  books  to  the  Indians,  you  pay  masters  and 
ministers  to  instruct  them,  you  send  out  orders  to  seek 
out  Indian  youth  fitting  to  send  to  College  at  the  Cor- 
poration's expense.  I  argue,  How  shall  youth  be  in- 
structed, if  such  books  as  are  necessary  are  wanting 
in  the  library?"*  This  proposition  was  not  success- 
ful. And  it  appears  by  a  subsequent  letter,  that  he 
adopted  a  course  which  others  could  not  obstruct.  "  I 
forward  you,"  he  writes,  "  about  a  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  in  books,  for  your  library ;  there  is  room  to 
lay  out  five  hundred  pounds  sterling  more,  to  furnish 
it  well  for  a  public  library. "f 

About  this  time  he  calls  for  additional  catalogues 
of  the  College  library,  that  "  I  may  know  what  you 
most  want ; "  and  adds,  "  If  some  of  your  New 
England  merchants  had  the  good  of  your  College  at 
heart,  you  might  have  a  great  number  of  books  sent 

*  Letter,  May  16th,  1724.  f  Letter,  August  1st,  1724. 


432  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   to  you  in  a  little   time."     By  this  letter  it  appears, 

that  the  spirit  of   misrepresenting   the    state   of   the 

pecuniary  resources  of  the  College,  was  of  an  earlier 
origin  than  our  own  times  ;  for  he  writes,  "  A  person  in 
my  neighbourhood  has  discouraged  one  I  expected  a 
present  from,  by  telling  him  how  rich  and  flourishing 
you  are,  to  buy  books  yourselves,  if  you  want  them. 
I  have  been  discoursing  the  great  bookseller,  Mr.  Guy, 
for  some  valuable  books,  and  to  settle  a  Professor  of 
Mathematics  among  you,  which  I  also  discoursed  him 
upon,  with  some  expectation  ;  but  he  died  after  a  short 
indisposition,  and  that  motion  is  sunk."* 

His  zeal  and  friendship  was  not  limited  to  contrib- 
uting himself,  and  soliciting  donations  for  the  library 
from  others.  They  extended  to  its  care  and  manage- 
ment. In  June,  1725,  he  thus  writes  to  Colman ; 
"  Your  library  is  reckoned  here  to  be  ill  managed, 
by  the  account  I  have  of  some  that  know  it.  You 
want  seats  to  sit  and  read,  and  chairs  to  your  valuable 
books,  like  our  Bodleian  Library,  or  Sion  College,  in 
London.  You  know  their  methods,  which  are  ap- 
proved, but  do  not  imitate  them.  You  let  your  books 
be  taken  at  pleasure,  to  men's  houses,  and  many  are 
lost ;  your  boyish  students  take  them  to  their  cham- 
bers, and  tear  out  pictures  and  maps  to  adorn  their 
walls.  Such  things  are  not  good.  If  you  want  room 
for  modern  books,  it  is  easy  to  remove  the  less  useful 
into  a  more  remote  place,  but  not  to  sell  any ;  they  are 
devoted.  Your  goodness  will  excuse  me,  if  I  hint  to 
you  what  I  think  faulty,  if  you  are  convinced  my  hints 
are  just.  Your  own  prudence  will  rectify  what  is 
amiss  as  far  as  you  can." 

*  Letter,  January  6th,  1725. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  433 


XIX. 


The  views  of  Hollis  concerning  the  nature  of  the    CHAPTER 

•vr-v 

works  were  as  wise  and  liberal  as  was  the  spirit  in 
which  he  bestowed  them.  The  Corporation  had  writ- 
ten to  him  "  about  exchanging  Bayle's  French  Dic- 
tionary for  an  English  one."  "  That  set  of  books,"  he 
replies,  "  are  very  valuable.  It  is  very  easy  for  one 
versed  in  Latin  to  read  French.  Our  students,  in 
London,  who  sincerely  endeavour  after  knowledge, 
easily  attain  to  read  French.  However,  upon  your 
notice,  I  may  discourage  any  more  French  books  by  my 
hand,  though  I  should  think  such  ought  to  be  esteemed 
in  a  public  library.  Mr.  Hunt  tells  me,  that  Bayle's 
Dictionary  in  French  is  worth  two  in  English.  He 
blames  me  for  sending  Montfaucon's  Antiquities  in 
English ;  he  would  have  had  the  French  sent  you. 
But,  according  to  your  remark  upon  Bayle,  I  perceive 
you  like  what  you  have  best,  as  it  is  in  English."  * 

In  the  same  spirit,  writing  of  his  "  expectation  of 
sending  out  another  parcel  of  books,"  he  adds,  "  If 
there  happen  to  be  some  books  not  quite  orthodox, 
in  search  after  truth  with  an  honest  design,  don't  be 
afraid  of  them.  A  public  library  ought  to  be  fur- 
nished, if  it  can,  with  con  as  well  as  pro,  that  stu- 
dents may  read,  try,  judge ;  see  for  themselves,  and 
believe  upon  argument  and  just  reasonings  of  the 
Scriptures.  '  Thus  saith  Aristotle,'  '  Thus  saith  Cal- 
vin,' will  not  now  pass  for  proof  in  our  London  dis- 
putations." 

Hollis  took  an  affectionate  interest  in  whatever 
affected  the  College  or  the  Province.  In  consequence 
of  the  uncertain  foundations  of  the  charter,  frequent 
suggestions  were  made  during  the  administration  of 


*  Letter,  January  6th,  1724. 

VOL.  i.  55 


434  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY 

CHAPTER  Leverett  concerning  applying,  in  behalf  of  the  College, 
—  to  the  crown  for  a  charter.  Among  others  the  opinion 
of  Hollis  was  asked  concerning  its  expediency.  He 
replied ;  "  I  am  not  capable  of  advising  you  about 
the  success  of  a  new  charter.  If  you  resolve  to  at- 
tempt it,  your  Governor  Shute  and  Mr.  Barrington,  his 
brother,  can  best  advise  you  in  it.  But  this  I  believe, 
if  you  come  over,  there  will  be  needful  a  long  purse 
and  a  large  degree  of  patience."* 

The  importance  of  a  learned  ministry  was  not,  at 
that  period,  generally  recognised  by  the  Baptist  Church; 
and  the  fairness  of  Mr.  Hollis's  mind  is  evinced  by 
the  freedom  with  which  he  acknowledges  the  de- 
ficiency, in  this  respect,  of  those  of  his  persuasion,  and 
his  anxiety  that  their  wants  should  be  supplied.  It  is 
also  highly  honorable  to  him,  as  it  shows  that  he  was 
in  advance  of  those  with  whom  he  was  united  in  faith. 
In  January,  1721,  he  thus  writes  concerning  the  son 
of  a  Baptist,  who  had  been  recommended  for  educa- 
tion at  Harvard  College.  "  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me, 
because  so  rare  in  England  or  elsewhere,  Baptists 
devoting  their  children  to  the  ministry  and  qualifying 
them  for  it,  by  training  them  up  in  arts  and  sciences. 
I  would  encourage  it  as  a  method  to  correct  mean  and 
ignorant  explications  and  applications  of  Scripture, 
attended  with  a  little  enthusiasm  too  often,  which 
narrows  that  catholic  charity  among  all  Christians, 
recommended  by  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus." 

In  the  same  spirit  he  writes  in  a  subsequent  letter, 
"  1  should  rejoice  to  see  or  hear  your  College  was  well 
furnished  with  Professors  in  every  science,  over  and 
above  your  resident  Fellows  or  Tutors,  that  young 

»  Letter,  August  18th,  1722. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  435 


xrx. 


students  might  be  completely  instructed  in  the  minis-  CHAPTER 
try,  and  our  ministers  at  London  encourage  the  send- 
ing such  like  youth  so  designed,  to  Harvard  College, 
instead  of  Leyden  or  Utrecht,  our  present  practice, 
which  would  bring  some  money  or  money  worth  into 
New  England,  and  perhaps,  notwithstanding  the 
charge  of  the  voyage,  would  be  as  easy  an  expense 
as  they  are  now  at  in  Holland. 

"  I  have  given  some  intimations  to  the  Baptist 
churches  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  Jerseys  of  my  design 
in  your  College  for  promoting  learning.  They  have 
many  churches  and  preachers  among  them,  by  the 
accounts  sent  me ;  but  I  find  not  one  preacher  among 
them  that  understands  the  languages.  If  any  from 
those  parts  should  now,  or  hereafter,  make  application 
to  your  College,  I  beseech  the  College  to  show  kind- 
ness to  such,  and  stretch  their  charity  a  little.  It  is 
what  I  wish  the  Baptists  would  do,  though  I  have  no 
great  expectation ;  as  what  I  think  would  be  for  the 
advantage  of  the  Christian  faith,  especially  while  there 
are  so  many  Quakers  among  them." 

The  interest  Hollis  took  in  Harvard  College  led 
him  to  watch  with  attention  the  political  relations  of 
the  Province  and  Great  Britain,  and  to  keep  his  cor- 
respondent, Colman,  informed  of  the  prevalent  opinion 
in  the  parent  State  in  respect  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Colony.  Governor  Shute,  tired  and  indignant  at  the 
nature  and  violence  of  the  opposition  made  to  his 
administration  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  Province,  had  suddenly  and  secretly  sailed  *  for 
England,  to  carry  his  complaints  personally  to  the  foot 
of  the  throne.  He  was  followed  immediately  by 

*  Sec  above,  p.  307. 


436  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   Elisha  Cooke,   the  leader  of  the  popular  party,   who 

XIX. 

— —  was  sent  out  by  the  legislature  as  agent  of  the  Pro- 
vince to  counteract  the  representations  of  Governor 
Shute. 

Hollis  entertained  very  favorable  views  of  the  char- 
acter of  Shute,  whom  he  represents  as  faithful  in  his 
endeavours  to  serve  New  England,  and  as  willing  to 
return,  if  he  can  do  it  with  honor,  and  be  suitably 
maintained  in  his  government.*  He  laments  the  party 
divisions,  which  then  distracted  the  councils  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  which  he  deprecates,  as  driving  the  Pro- 
vince into  the  hands  of  men,  "  whose  resentments  will 
be  found  cruel."  "  You  have  enemies,"  he  adds,  "  in 
London  and  at  court,  who  greatly  aggravate  your 
faults,  and  would  rejoice  in  the  ruin  of  your  civil  and 
religious  liberties,  and  who  say,  that  some  of  your 
actions  are  high  treason. "f  "Boston  is  represented 
as  though  in  actual  rebellion,  and  some  speak  of  send- 
ing over  regular  troops  to  keep  you  in  subjection. "J 
His  statements  concerning  the  feeling  towards  the 
Province,  among  certain  parties  in  Great  Britain, 
are  supported  by  the  complete  triumph  of  Shute,  on 
the  hearing  of  his  memorial  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  who,  after  applaud- 
ing his  zeal  and  probity,  declared  that  he  had  made 
good  his  charge  against  the  House  of  Representatives, 
of  "  invading  and  encroaching  on  your  Majesty's  pre- 
rogative," and  intimated  that,  if  the  explanatory  char- 
ter of  the  Province,  which  they  recommended,  should 
not  be  accepted  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  "fur- 
ther provision  may  be  necessary  to  support  and  preserve 


*  Letter,  May  10th,  1723.  f  September  5th,  1723. 

J  July,  1724. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  437 


your  Majesty's  just  authority   in   that    Province,  and  CHAPTER 
to  prevent  such  presumptuous  invasion  for  the  future"*  — - — '. — 

Hollis,  who  regarded  the  power  of  the  crown  with 
the  loyalty  of  an  Englishman,  and  New  England 
with  the  affection  of  a  friend,  urges  upon  his  cor- 
respondents to  promote  submission,  the  disannulling 
of  all  offensive  acts,  asking  pardon  of  the  King,  and 
promising  more  regular  proceedings  in  future,  as  the 
only  mode  of  preserving  the  provincial  charter. 

The  advice  was  not  suited  to  the  temper  of  those 
whom  it  was  intended  to  influence,  or  to  the  state 
of  the  times.  His  letters  to  Mr.  Colman  are  honor- 
able and  continuous  testimonies  to  the  action  of  a 
generous  mind,  excited  solely  by  a  desire  to  do  good. 
The  disinterested  zeal,  the  earnest,  active,  and  un- 
deviating  affection,  exhibited  by  Thomas  Hollis  for 
the  service  of  the  College,  justly  render  his  name  dear 
to  the  sons  of  Harvard,  and  entitle  him  for  ever  to 
their  grateful  remembrance. 

John  Hollis  made  several  donations  to  the  College,  John 

Hollis. 

and,  in  the  year  1724,  contributed  sixty-rive  pounds 
sterling,  in  books,  for  the  library.  He  was  an  active 
and  successful  merchant  in  London,  the  brother  and 
partner  in  business  of  Thomas  Hollis.  Both  were 
actuated  by  a  kindred  spirit  of  benevolence,  but  the 
munificence  of  John  Hollis  was  controlled  by  consider- 
ations of  duty  to  a  family  of  eight  children. 

Nathaniel  Hollis,  the  youngest  of  these  three  bro-  Nathaniel 
thers,   although    possessed  of  an    inferior   estate,  also 
extended  a  vigorous  hand  in  aid  of  Harvard  College. 
He    transmitted,    in    1733,    three  hundred    and    fifty 


*  See  the  Report  of  the  Lords'  Committee  upon  Governor  Shute's 
Memorial,  June  1st,  1725. 


438  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   pounds  sterling,  for  the  establishment  of  two  scholar- 

XIX. 

— - —  ships  in  the  College,  to  be  subjected   to  the  general 

rules  and  provisions  established  by  his  elder  brother, 

Thomas  Hollis,  for   the  ten  scholarships  he  founded. 

Thomas          Thomas  Hollis,  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Hollis,  was  the 

Holhs. 

favorite  of  the  great  benefactor  of  Harvard  College, 
whose  name  he  bore,  and  became,  in  1731,  the  heir 
of  his  whole  estate.  He  survived  his  uncle  only  four 
years ;  but  during  that  short  period  he  diligently  fol- 
lowed his  example,  and  in  1732  accompanied  his 
father's  donation  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
with  a  gift  from  himself,  of  seven  hundred  pounds, 
with  orders  to  have  it  "  placed  out  on  good  security, 
and  that  twenty  pounds  be  added  to  the  salaries  of 
each  of  the  two  Professors  on  my  uncle's  foundation 
for  ever,  towards  their  more  comfortable  subsistence."* 
By  this  noble  benefaction  the  Corporation  were  en- 
abled to  raise  the  salaries  of  the  Hollis  professorships 
from  eighty  pounds,  as  established  by  the  founder, 
to  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum. f  This  donation 
was  not  the  only  evidence  given  by  Thomas  Hollis, 
of  inheriting,  with  the  estate  of  his  uncle,  his  liberal 
disposition  and  affection  for  the  College.  In  July, 
1732,  he  transmitted  "a  sphere,  a  newly-invented 
machine,  called  an  Orrery,  and  a  double  microscope  ;  " 
and  in  1733  he  made  a  donation  to  the  library,  of  a 
valuable  collection  of  books.  This  gift  closed  the 
bounties  of  two  generations  of  the  Hollis  family  to 
Harvard  College.  The  total  amount  of  their  munifi- 
cence exceeded  six  thousand  pounds  currency  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, which,  considering  the  value  of  money  at 
that  period,  and  the  disinterested  spirit  by  which 

*  Hollis's  Book,  p.  26.  f  Memoirs  of  Thomas  Brand  Hollis. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  439 

their  charities  were  prompted,  constitutes  one  of  the   CHAPTER 

most  remarkable   instances  of  continued  benevolence  '. 

upon  record.  Thomas  Hollis  died  in  1735,  his  father 
in  1738,  and  their  fortunes  concentrated  upon  his 
son,  who  bore  his  name.  The  bounties  of  the  other 
branches  of  the  Hollis  family  will  be  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  the  succeeding  period  of  the  history 
of  the  College. 

The  Diaries  of  Leverett  and  Wadsworth,  and  the 
records  of  the  Corporation  and  of  the  College*  Faculty, 
contain  many,  though  incomplete  accounts  of  the  re- 
quired exercises,  studies,  discipline,  and  customs  of 
the  College  at  this  period. 

Previous  to  the  accession  of  Leverett  to  the  presi- 
dency, the  practice  of  obliging  the  undergraduates  to 
read  portions  of  the  Scriptures  from  Latin  or  English 
into  Greek,  at  morning  and  evening  service,  had  been 
discontinued.  But  in  January  and  May,  1708,  this 
"  ancient  and  laudable  practice  was  revived  "  by  the 
Corporation.*  At  morning  prayers  all  the  undergrad- 
uates were  ordered,  beginning  with  the  youngest,  to 
read  a  verse  out  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
Hebrew  into  Greek,  except  the  Freshmen,  who  were 
permitted  to  use  their  English  Bibles  in  this  exer- 
cise ;  and,  at  evening  service,  to  read  from  the  New 
Testament  out  of  the  English  or  Latin  translation 
into  Greek,  whenever  the  President  performed  this 
service  in  the  Hall.f 

Early  in  the  presidency  of  Wadsworth  this  exercise 
was  again  discontinued,  and  ordered  to  be  performed  by 
the  classes  at  the  chambers  of  their  respective  tutors. 


*  Leverett's  Diary,  pp.  12,  13. 

t  Neal's  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  I.  p.  203. 


440  HISTORY   OF    HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


XtX. 


CHAPTER  The  morning  service  began  with  a  short  prayer ; 
then  a  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  was  read,  which 
the  President  expounded,  and  concluded  with  prayer. 
The  evening  service  was  the  same,  except  that  the 
chapter  read  was  from  the  New  Testament,  and  on 
Saturday  a  psalm  was  sung  in  the  Hall.  On  Sunday 
exposition  was  omitted ;  a  psalm  was  sung  morning 
and  evening ;  and  one  of  the  scholars,  in  course,  was 
called  upon  to  repeat,  in  the  evening,  the  sermons 
preached  on  that  day.  On  the  Sabbath,  public  wor- 
ship was  attended  in  the  parish  church,  where  the 
undergraduates  occupied  the  front  gallery ;  and  none 
were  excused  on  account  of  difference  in  religious 
sentiment. 

President  Wadsworth  in  his  Diary  states,  that  he 
expounded  the  Scriptures,  once  eleven,  and  sometimes 
eight  or  nine  times,  in  the  course  of  a  week.  The 
President's  duty  embraced  these  exercises,  general  in- 
spection of  the  conduct  and  morals  of  the  students, 
presiding  at  the  meetings  of  the  Corporation  and  im- 
mediate government,  recording  their  proceedings,  and 
attending  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers.  He  was 
occasionally  present  at  the  weekly  declamations  and 
public  disputations,  and  then  acted  as  moderator ;  an 
office,  which,  in  his  absence,  was  filled  by  one  of  the 
Tutors. 

The  College  course  occupied  four  years,  and  the 
undergraduates  were  divided  and  distinguished  as  at 
present,  into  four  classes,  Senior  Sophisters,  Junior 
Sophisters,  Sophomores,  and  Freshmen.  The  Fresh- 
man class  were  servitors  to  the  whole  College  out  of 
study  hours,  to  go  on  errands.  Every  student,  on 
admission,  was  required  to  copy  out  and  subscribe 
the  College  laws. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  441 

The  regular  exercises  are  thus  stated  in  an  official   CHAPTER 

XIX 

report,  made    in    1726,  by   Tutors    Flynt,  Welsteed,  — 
and  Prince. 

"  1.  While  the  students  are  Freshmen,  they  com- 
monly recite  the  Grammars,  and  with  them  a  recita- 
tion in  Tully,  Virgil,  and  the  Greek  Testament,  on 
Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednesdays,  and  Thursdays,  in 
the  morning  and  forenoon  ;  on  Friday  morning  Du- 
gard's  or  Farnaby's  Rhetoric,  and  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing the  Greek  Catechism  ;  and,  towards  the  latter 
end  of  the  year,  they  dispute  on  Ramus's  Definitions, 
Mondays  and  Tuesdays  in  the  forenoon. 

"  2.  The  Sophomores  recite  Burgersdicius's  Logic, 
and  a  manuscript  called  New  Logic,  in  the  mornings 
and  forenoons ;  and  towards  the  latter  end  of  the  year 
Heereboord's  Meletemata,  and  dispute  Mondays  and 
Tuesdays  in  the  forenoon,  continuing  also  to  recite 
the  classic  authors,  with  Logic  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy ;  on  Saturday  mornings  they  recite  Wollebius's 
Divinity. 

"  3.  The  Junior  Sophisters  recite  Heereboord's 
Meletemata,  Mr.  Morton's  Physics,  More's  Ethics, 
Geography,  Metaphysics,  in  the  mornings  and  fore- 
noons ;  Wollebius  on  Saturday  morning ;  and  dispute 
Mondays  and  Tuesdays  in  the  forenoons. 

"  4.  The  Senior  Sophisters,  besides  Arithmetic,  re- 
cite Allsted's  Geometry,  Gassendus's  Astronomy,  in 
the  morning ;  go  over  the  Arts  towards  the  latter  end 
of  the  year,  Ames's  Medulla  on  Saturdays,  and  dispute 
once  a  week."* 

By  a  vote  of  the  Overseers,  "  all  who  had  actually 
studies  at  College  and  resided  there,  were  ordered  to 


*  Wadsworth's  Diary,  p.  27. 

VOL.  i.  56 


442  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER   be   in  commons,  except  waiters,  transient  preachers. 

XIX 

—  and  such  whose  bodily  infirmities  the   President  and 

major  part  of  the  Tutors  should  think  would  not  admit 
of  it."*  The  Tutors  were  also  required  to  attend 
"  in  the  Hall  at  meal  times,  to  prevent  disorders." 

All  the  students,  except  the  freshmen,  were  obliged 
to  attend,  four  days  in  the  week,  the  exercises  of  Ju- 
dah  Monis,  a  converted  Jew,  who  was  instructor  in 
Hebrew,  unless  specially  exempted.  Every  student 
was  to  have  a  Hebrew  Bible  or  Psalter,  and  a  Hebrew 
Lexicon,  and  the  prescribed  exercises  were  as  follows; 
"  One  exercise  in  a  week  shall  be  the  writing  the 

o 

Hebrew  and  Rabbinical,  the  rest  shall  be  in  this  grad- 
ual method.  1.  Copying  the  grammar  and  reading. 
2.  Reciting  it  and  reading.  3.  Construing.  4.  Pars- 
ing. 5.  Translating.  6.  Composing.  7.  Reading 
without  points,  "f 

The  discipline  of  the  College  was  enforced  and  sanc- 
tioned by  daily  visits  of  the  Tutors  to  the  chambers 
of  the  students,  fines,  admonition,  confession  in  the 
Hall,  publicly  asking  pardon,  degradation  to  the  bottom 
of  the  class,  striking  the  name  from  the  College  lists, 
and  expulsion,  according  to  the  nature  and  aggravation 
of  the  offence.  The  manner  in  which  this  last  pun- 
ishment was  inflicted  is  thus  minutely  stated  by  Presi- 
dent Leverett.  t  "  In  the  College  Hall  the  President, 
after  morning  prayers,  the  Fellows,  Masters  of  Art, 
and  the  several  classes  of  undergraduates  being  pres- 
ent, after  a  full  opening  of  the  crimes  of  the  delin- 
quents, a  pathetic  admonition  of  them,  and  solemn 
obtestation  and  caution  to  the  scholars,  pronounced 


*  Wadsworth's  Diary,  p.  21.  f  Leverett's  Diary,  p.  226. 

t  Diary,  p.  96. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  443 


XIX. 


the  sentence  of  expulsion,  ordered  their  names  to  be   CHAPTER 
rent  off  the  tables,  and  them  to  depart  the  HalJ." 

Mr.  Flynt,  in  his  commonplace-book,  thus  re- 
cords an  instance  of  College  punishment  for  stealing 
poultry. 

"  Nov.  4th,  1717.  Three  scholars  were  publicly 
admonished  for  thievery,  and  one  degraded  below  five 
in  his  class,  because  he  had  been  before  publicly  ad- 
monished for  card-playing.  They  were  ordered  by 
the  President  into  the  middle  of  the  Hall  (while  two 
others,  concealers  of  the  theft,  were  ordered  to  stand 
up  in  their  places,  and  spoken  to  there).  The  crime 
they  were  charged  with  was  first  declared,  and  then 
laid  open  as  against  the  law  of  God  and  the  House, 
and  they  were  admonished  to  consider  the  nature  and 
tendency  of  it,  with  its  aggravations ;  and  all,  with 
them,  were  warned  to  take  heed  and  regulate  them- 
selves, so  that  they  might  not  be  in  danger  of  so  doing 
for  the  future  ;  and  those,  who  consented  to  the  theft, 
were  admonished  to  beware,  lest  God  tear  them  in 
pieces  according  to  the  text.  They  were  then  fined, 
and  ordered  to  make  restitution  twofold  for  each  theft." 

The  Diary  of  President  Leverett,  of  the  20th  of 
March,  1714,  contains  an  interesting  account  of  the 
effects  of  the  College  discipline  upon  a  student  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  native  tribes,  which  deserves  to 
be  recorded  as  a  tribute  to  his  character.  Larnel, 
an  Indian  student  belonging  to  the  Junior  Sophis- 
ter  class,  had  been  guilty  of  some  offence,  for  which 
he  had  been  dismissed  from  the  College.  "  He  re- 
mained," says  President  Leverett,  "  a  considerable 
time  at  Boston,  in  a  state  of  penance.  He  presented 
his  confession  to  Mr.  Pemberton,  who  thereupon  be- 
came his  intercessor,  and  in  his  letter  to  the  President 


444  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  expresses  himself  thus ;  *  This  comes  by  Larnel,  who 

! —  brings  a  confession  as  good  as  Austin's,  and  I  am 

charitably  disposed  to  hope  it  flows  from  a  like  spirit 
of  penitence.'  In  the  public  reading  of  his  confession, 
the  flowing  of  his  passions  were  extraordinarily  timed, 
and  his  expressions  accented,  and  most  peculiarly  and 
emphatically  those  of  the  grace  of  God  to  him  ;  which 
indeed  did  give  a  peculiar  grace  to  the  performance 
itself,  and  raised,  I  believe,  a  charity  in  some,  that  had 
very  little  I  am  sure,  and  ratified  wonderfully  that  which 
I  had  conceived  of  him.  Having  made  his  public  con- 
fession, he  was  restored  to  his  standing  in  the  Col- 
lege." * 

On  the  22d  of  the  ensuing  July,  Larnel  died,  and 
was  buried  in  Boston.  "  He  was,"  says  Leverett, 
"  about  twenty  years  old,  an  acute  grammarian,  an 
extraordinary  Latin  poet,  and  a  good  Greek  one."f 

It  was  the  custom,  during  the  presidency  of  Wads- 
worth,  on  Commencement  day,  for  the  Governor  of 
the  Province  to  come  from  Boston  through  Roxbury, 
often  by  the  way  of  Watertown,  attended  by  his 
body  guards,  and  to  arrive  at  the  College  about  ten 
or  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  A  procession  was 
then  formed  of  the  Corporation,  Overseers,  magis- 
trates, ministers,  and  invited  gentlemen,  and  imme- 
diately moved  from  Harvard  Hall  to  the  Congregational 
church.  The  exercises  of  the  day  began  with  a  short 
prayer  by  the  President ;  a  salutatory  oration  in  Latin, 
by  one  of  tjie  graduating  class,  succeeded ;  then  dis- 
putations on  theses  or  questions  in  Logic,  Ethics, 
and  Natural  Philosophy  commenced.  These  were 
generally  three,  and  were  printed,  and  distributed  on 

«  Leverett's  Diary,  p.  88.  f  Ibid.,  p.  89. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  445 

Commencement  day.     Each  question  was  maintained   CHAPTER 

XIX. 

and  defended  by  a  respondent,  and  every  member  of 
the  graduating  class,  the  respondents  and  orators  alone 
excepted,  was  obliged  to  adduce  publicly  at  least 
one  opposing  argument.  When  the  disputation  ter- 
minated, one  of  the  candidates  pronounced  a  Latin 
"  gratulatory  oration."  The  graduating  class  were 
then  called,  and,  after  asking  leave  of  the  Governor 
and  Overseers,  the  President  conferred  the  Bachelors' 
degree,  by  delivering  a  book  to  the  candidates  (who 
came  forward  successively  in  parties  of  four),  and  pro- 
nouncing a  form  of  words  in  Latin.  An  adjournment 
then  took  place  to  dinner,  in  Harvard  Hall ;  from 
thence  the  procession  returned  to  the  church,  and, 
after  the  Masters'  disputations,  usually  three  in  num- 
ber, were  finished,  their  degrees  were  conferred,  with 
the  same  general  forms  as  those  of  the  Bachelors. 
An  occasional  address  was  then  made  by  the  President. 
A  Latin  valedictory  oration  by  one  of  the  Masters 
succeeded,  and  the  exercises  concluded  with  a  prayer 
by  the  President.  The  students  then  escorted  the 
Governor,  Corporation,  and  Overseers,  in  procession, 
to  the  President's  house,  and  thus  closed  the  cere- 
monies of  the  day. 

In  July,  1728,  when  William  Burnett  arrived  as 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  "  waited  upon  by 
the  Corporation,  to  salute  him,  wish  him  assistance 
and  prosperity  in  his  government,  to  ask  his  smiles  on 
the  College,  and  the  honor  of  waiting  upon  him 
there."  On  the  21st  of  August  ensuing  he  accord- 
ingly visited  the  College,  accompanied  from  Boston  by 
two  members  of  the  Corporation  ;  and,  being  met  by 
two  others,  the  Professors  and  Tutors,  and  Masters 
of  Arts,  a  mile  from  the  College,  he  was  received  by 


446  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER  the  President  and  the  two  remaining  members  of  the 

'—  Corporation  at  the  library.  The  Governor  was  there 

addressed  in  Latin  by  a  Senior  Bachelor,  and  made 
a  short  answer  in  the  same  language ;  and,  after 
having  gone  to  Tutor  Flynt's  chamber  and  "  the 
Mathematical  Professor's,  where  he  saw  an  experi- 
ment," he  dined,  with  about  fifty  other  guests,  in  the 
library,  with  the  President  and  Fellows. 

The  visit  of  Governor  Belcher  to  the  College  ap- 
pears, according  to  its  records,  to  have  been  attended 
with  like  ceremonies.  He  was,  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1730,  escorted  to  Cambridge  by  "  a  military 
troop,  then  waited  on  by  two  companies  of  foot." 
When  he  arrived  at  the  College,  after  "  having  been 
awhile  at  Mr.  Flynt's  chamber,  the  bell  tolled,  and  the 
scholars  assembled  in  the  Hall,  into  which  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Corporation  having  entered,  Mr.  Hobby 
made  a  Latin  oration,  and  his  Excellency  made  a 
very  handsome  answer  in  Latin.  This  done,  and  his 
Excellency  the  Governor,  his  Majesty's  Council,  the 
Tutors,  Professors,  and  sundry  gentlemen,  who  came 
on  the  occasion,  dined  together  in  the  library,  with  the 
Corporation." 

These  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  last,  and  of  the 
preceding  age,  are  interesting  as  characteristic  of  the 
customs  and  manners  of  Massachusetts  under  the  Co- 
lonial and  Provincial  governments. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I.  — See  pp.  11,  188. 

EARLY  RECORDS  OF  THE  COLLEGE.— HARVARD'S  LEGACY. 

THE  ancient  records  of  the   College   are   defective,   and  leave  APPENDIX, 
in  obscurity  points  of  its  early   history,  on  which  questions  have       No' r* 
arisen.     Some  account  of  those  records,  and  of  their  present  state,  Early  rec- 

ords  of  the 

may  properly  be  given  here ;  to  which  will  be  added  such  portions   College, 
of  their  contents  as  have  been  the  occasion  of  doubts,  and  such 
contemporaneous  evidence  as  may  enable  the  friends  of  the  College 
to  form  for  themselves  a  judgment  concerning  them. 

The  early  records  of  the  College,  which  embrace  the  occur- 
rences of  the  first  century  after  its  foundation,  are  contained  in 
three  books,  denominated  College  Books,  Nos.  I.,  III.,  and  IV. 
There  is  none  extant  denominated  No.  II. ;  but  that  which  is  now 
called  No.  I.,  and  by  President  Wadsworth  is  referred  to  as  such, 
is  sometimes  in  later  College  Books  referred  to  as  No.  II. 

College  Book,  No.  I.,  is  a  collection  of  old  accounts,  records, 
and  papers.  One  of  its  earliest  entries  is  in  the  handwriting  of 
President  Hoar,  and  has  the  signature  L.  H.,  whence  it  has  been 
conjectured,  that  this  book  was  collected  and  bound  together  in 
his  time,  or  about  1673.  Its  earliest  pages  contain  only  old  accounts 
of  repairs  and  expenditures  on  College  chambers  and  studies,  of 
the  date  of  1640  and  1644. 

On  the  23d  page  of  this  collection  a  double  paging  commences, 
showing,  unquestionably,  that  page  23  was  page  1  of  a  more  ancient 
book.  This  page  contains  an  account  of  "  the  studies  in  Harvard 
College,  with  their  incomes  and  quarterly  rents."  The  25th,  or 
3d  page  of  the  ancient  book,  contains  that  record  of  a  "  meeting 
of  the  Governors  of  Harvard  College,"  of  a  part  of  which  there  is 
a  fac-simile  opposite  to  the  48th  page  of  this  volume. 

Page  28th,   anciently  the  5th,  contains  the  account  of  the  re- 

VOL.  i.  57 


450  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   ceipts  and  expenditures  of  Samuel   Shepard,  who  succeeded  Na- 
NO.  i.       thaniel  Eaton  as  superintendent  of  the  building  then  erecting  for 


Early  rec-      the   College, 
ores  of  the 

College.  In  page  33d,  anciently  the  9th,  the  account  of  Tyng,  the  Treas- 

urer of  the  country  in  1644,  with  Harvard  College,  is  also  preserved. 

The  residue  of  the  book  contains  the  early  laws,  orders,  forms 
of  admission,  records  of  gifts,  deeds,  proceedings  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, and  a  few  proceedings  of  the  Overseers.  All  these  are  un- 
questionably original  records,  as  indicated  by  the  variety  and  nature 
of  the  handwriting. 

The  last  regular  entry  in  this  book  is  in  the  handwriting  of 
President  Mather,  and  is  dated  July  8th,  1686. 

At  this  period  the  College  Book,  No.  IV.,  being  opened,  No.  1. 
ceased  to  record  the  proceedings  of  the  Corporation.  On  its  blank 
leaves  had  been  inserted,  in  early  times,  a  list  of  the  books  given  to 
the  College  by  John  Harvard,  John  Winthrop,  and  Sir  Kenelm 
Digby,  and  in  later  times  were  added,  a  copy  of  the  code  of  Col- 
lege laws,  passed  in  1735,  and  a  catalogue  of  the  names  of  the 
graduates  from  1642  to  1795.  This  catalogue  is  thus  prefaced  in 
the  handwriting  of  President  Wadsworth. 

"  Nomina  Graduatorum.  —  Having  observed  that  the  names  of 
the  graduates  in  Harvard  College  are  not  recorded  in  any  of  the 
College  Books,  I  thought  such  an  omission  ought  not  to  be  con- 
tinued. Therefore  I  (Benjamin  Wadsworth,  President)  think  meet 
now,  January  23d,  1733-4,  to  insert  in  this  College  Book  the 
following  catalogue  of  graduates,  printed  An.  Dom.  1733." 

His  example  was  followed  by  his  successors  until  1795.  It  ap- 
pears conclusively  from  this  entry,  that  nearly  one  hundred  years 
had  elapsed  before  any  catalogue  of  graduates  was  entered  in  the 
College  Books. 

College  Book,  No.  III.,  is  a  compilation,  consisting  chiefly  of  ex 
tracts  from  College  Book,  No.  I.,  with  some  additions.  It  was 
probably  made  by  Thomas  Danforth,  who  resided  in  Cambridge,  and 
was  Treasurer  of  the  College  from  1650  to  1669,  when  John  Rich- 
ards was  appointed  to  that  office.  Danforth  then  took,  by  desire  of 
the  Overseers,  the  office  of  "  Steward  and  Inspector  of  the  eco- 
nomical affairs"  of  the  College,  which  he  held  until  April,  1682, 
when  Richards  sailed  for  Europe.  He  then  had  "  all  the  accounts 
and  papers  concerning  the  College"  placed  in  his  hands.  These 
he  held  until  January,  1683.  Until  this  date,  Book  No.  III.  is 
apparently  all  in  his  handwriting,  with  the  exception  of  some 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  451 

marginal  insertions  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Leverett,  then  tutor,   APPENDIX, 
afterwards  President,  in  which  all  entries  subsequent  to  this  date         °' 
appear.  Ear]y rec- 

ordsofthe 

This  book  has  therefore  no  claim  to  the  character  of  an  original   College. 
record.     It  commences  with  a  statement  of  the  vote  of  the  General 
Court  in  1636,  granting  four  hundred  pounds  for  the  building  of 
the   College,   of  which   the  account  is  short  and  general.     Con- 
cerning Harvard's  legacies  its  statement  is  as  follows,  in  p.  1. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  John  Harvard,  sometime  minister  of  God's  word 
at  Charlestown,  by  his  last  will  and  testament,  gave  towards  the 
erecting  the  abovesaid  School  or  College,  the  one  moiety  or  half 
part  of  his  estate,  the  said  moiety  amounting  to  the  sum  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  pounds,  seventeen  shillings,  and  two  pence." 

This  book  then  narrates,  historically,  other  donations.  It  also 
contains  the  accounts,  at  large,  of  Eaton  and  Dunster,  and  of  the 
other  Treasurers  antecedent  to  1693,  but  omits  those  of  Shepard 
and  Tyng.  Its  regular  entries  terminate,  like  those  in  No.  I.,  with  a 
record  of  the  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  dated  the  8th  of  July,  1686. 

This  book  was  superseded  by  College  Book,  No.  IV.,  after,  the 
above  date.  Its  blank  leaves  were  subsequently  made  the  recep- 
tacle of  forms  of  diplomas,  copies  of  deeds,  and  plans  of  land  be- 
longing to  the  College. 

College  Book,  No.  IV.,  commences  with  the  record  of  "  a  meeting 
of  the  Honorable  President  and  Council,  at  Cambridge,  July  23d, 
1686."  This  occurred  during  the  short  administration  of  Joseph  Dud- 
ley. The  entries  are  few  antecedent  to  the  charter  of  the  College 
granted  by  the  first  legislature  under  the  Provincial  charter  of 
William  and  Mary.  The  last  of  these  entries  is  dated,  "  Boston, 
24th  of  December,  1691."  When  the  College  charter  of  1692 
was  about  to  be  carried  into  effect,  this  book,  No.  IV.,  was  reversed, 
without  changing  its  denomination,  and  that  charter  was  inserted 
at  length  in  the  first,  formerly  the  last,  page,  and  the  first  meeting 
under  it  was  recorded  July  26th,  1692.  From  this  time  the  records 
of  the  Corporation  are  preserved  in  this  volume,  with  occasional 
interruptions,  until  January,  1708 ;  and  after  this  date  they  were 
kept  in  it  by  President  Leverett,  with  great  care  and  accuracy, 
until  his  death  ;  and  subsequently  by  the  successive  Presidents,  in 
their  own  handwriting,  until  September,  1750,  when  this  volume 
closes. 

The  preceding   are  all   the   books  that  have   any  claim  to  the 


452  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  character   of  "  early  records  "  of  the  College.     There  is  a  book 

No'  L       of  recent  origin,   denominated  "  Donation  Book,"  which  contains 

Early  rec-     «  an  account  of  grants,  donations,  and  bequests,  to  Harvard  College 

ords  of  the 

College.  from  the  foundation  of  that  society  to  the  year  1773,"  to  which  a 
second  volume  has  been  added,  of  donations  since  that  period.  This 
is  a  mere  abstract  of  Books  No.  I.  and  No.  III.,  with  a  few  addi- 
tions, and  is  stated  to  be  "  collected  by  order  of  the  Corporation." 

In  Books  No.  I.  and  No.  III.,  are  contained  the  accounts  of 
Nathaniel  Eaton,  Samuel  Shepard,  and  Henry  Dunster,  the  three 
individuals  who  acted  as  agents  for  the  building  of  the  first  College, 
and  received  and  disbursed  all  its  moneys;  and  also  the  account  of 
Tyng,  the  Treasurer  of  the  country,  with  the  College  as  stated  in 
1644.  From  these  accounts  is  derived  all  that  at  this  day  is  known 
officially  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  College  during  the 
first  eighteen  years  of  its  existence,  from  1636  to  1654.  As  they 
are  few,  are  illustrative  of  the  period,  and  have  been  the  occasion 
of  doubts  concerning  the  accuracy  of  some  statements  relating 
to  the  College,  made  in  popular  and  general  histories,  it  has  been 
deemed  proper  to  insert  them  here  at  length,  as  they  stand  in 
the  abovementioned  records. 

The  account  of  Eaton's  agency  is  thus  stated  in  College  Book, 
No.  III.,  p.  2. 

"  Mr.  Nathaniel  Eaton  was  chosen  Professor  of  the  said  school  in 
the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  to  whose  care 
the  management  of  the  donations  before  mentioned  were  intrusted, 
for  the  erecting  of  such  edifices  as  were  meet  and  necessary  for  a 
College,  and  for  his  own  lodgings ;  an  account  of  his  management 
whereof  is  as  followeth. 

"  Mr.  Nathaniel  Eaton's  Account  under  his  own  hand. 

£.  s.  d. 
Imprimis.     The  frame  in  the  College  yard,  and  digging  the 

cellar,  carriage,  and  setting  up,            .            .  120  00  0 
Item.     Fencing  the  yard  with  pales,  6i  feet  high,              .  30  00  0 
"       To  the  mason,  Thomas  King,  for  chimneys,                .  6  00  0 
"       To  the  smith,  paid  for  iron  casements,        .            .  2  00  0 
"       Part  of  the  frame  for  an  outhouse,        .            .            .  5  00  0 
"       Felling,  squaring,  and  loading  lumber,  to  be  added,  4  00  0 
"       Loading  stone  and  clay  for  the  underpinning,              .  1  10  0 
"       For  thirty  apple  trees,  and  setting  them,     .            .  6  00  0 
"       For  bricks  provided  and  laid  in  place,               .            .  3  10  0 
"       Paid  by  me  to  the  carpenter  for  additions  to  be  made 
to  the  frame  already  raised,  besides  the  £20  re- 
ceived by  virtue  of  a  note  from  yourself  to  Mr.  Allen,  108  00  0 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  453 

Item.     In  part  payment  for  lime  to  be  burnt  for  the  College,  1  00  0      APPENDIX, 

"       Unloading  the  lumber  prepared  for  the  addition,        .  3  10  0 


For  250  cedar  boards,  with  the  carriage  of  them,  10  10  0  Early  rec- 

ords  of  the 

£301  00  0  College. 

Received  of  Mr.  Allen,     .  .  .        200000 


Remains  due,    .  .  .  £  101  00  0" 

College  Book,  No.  III.,  p.  3,  after  stating,  that  Nathaniel  Eaton, 
having  been  convicted  of  sundry  abuses,  was,  in  September,  1639, 
removed  from  his  trust,  proceeds  thus ;  "  The  charge  of  carrying 
on  the  building  begun  by  Mr.  Eaton  was  then  committed  to  the 
management  of  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard,  and  the  College  Book  was 
put  into  his  hands." 

Shepard's  accounts  are  preserved  in  College  Book,  No.  I.,  p.  5, 
where  they  appear  as  follows. 

"  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard's  Account. 

£.  s.  d. 

1639.  Received  imprimis  Cambridge  rate,                .  .            20  00  0 

"  "          of  the  Ferry,     .            .            .            .  .50000 

"  -      "              Mr.  Sparrawk  and  Mr.  Gourdon,  .            55  00  0 

"  "              Mr.  Willowby,         .            .            .  .      25  00  0 

1641.  "              Mr.  Angier,  corn  at  4s.  per  bushel,  .            40000 

1C39.  "              Watertown  rate,      .            .            .  30  12  0 

"  "              Mr.  Norton,        .            .            .  .              728 

"  "          in  clapboards,   .            .             .             .  1  13  0 

"  "         in  work  of  Jo.  Friend,        .            .  .             780 

"  "          of  Mr.  Nowell,             .            .            .  .2000 

"  "              Mr.  Peters  and  Mr.  Weld,         .  .            10  00  0 


.£248  15  8 

"  "  Mr.  Allen,  paid  by  Goodridge.    The  par- 

ticulars cannot  be  produced.         .  3  00  0 

.£251  15  8 
Disbursed  for  the  College,  as  follows. 

£.  s.d. 

1.  Money  disbursed  by  Mr.  Eaton,  £  12  10s.  and  to  Finch, 

Eliot,  Winter,  and  Symonds,  carpenters,  and  Goodman 

Harding,  as  appears,         .  .  .  .  .        20  17  4 

2.  For  work  and  materials  for  the  College,  all  I  received  for 

the  Ferry,  .  .  .  .  .  .  50  00  0 

3.  Mr.  Sparrawk  to  the  workmen,  as  appears,        .            .  55  06  0 
Mr.  Willowby  paid  the  workmen  in  commodities  as  appears,  21  10  0 

4.  Lost  by  paying  out  the  corn  received  at  4s.  the  bushel,  and 

paid  out  at  2s.  Sd.,  little  at  3s.,  and  some  at  2s.  6d.  In 
the  whole  my  old  account  is  but  lost  £  9,  8s.  9d.  I  doubt 
it  was  more,  and  paid,  .  .  .  29  11  3 


454 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,    5.   Paid  for  carting  and  other  businesses  and  materials  for  the 

College,  as  appears  in  particulars, 

Parly  rec-      6.   Paid  for  John  Friend  by  Mr.  Norton,   £  3,  10*.     To  other 
College'116  workmen  £  3,  12s.  8d.     In  all, 

Mr.  No  well  paid  for  lime,  .... 

Mr.  Dunster  discounted  with  John  Friend 


33  104 

7    28 

2000 

10000 


Paid  Captain  Gibbons, 

"   Mr.  Storer  for  John  Friend,  .  . 

"   to  Mr.  Ford  for  John  Friend,      . 

"  to  Thomas,  the  smith,          ... 

"   to  Nash,  for  meat  to  the  workmen, 

"   to  bricklayers,  .... 

"    to  Mr.  Russell  for  John  Friend, 

"   for  Rich,  the  plasterer,         .  . 

"  for  the  commodities  the  workmen  had  of  him, 

"   to  Stetson,  for  cleaning  the  house,   . 

"   to  Mr.  Sparrawk,  .  .  . 

"   to  brickmakers,         .... 

"  to  Goodman  Goff,  .  .  . 

"  to  Goodman  Freem,  for  hair,  .  . 

"  to  John  Stedman, 

"   to  Mr.  Eldred,  for  stones,  .  . 


Due  to  him  by  this  account, 


£  229  17  7 

£.  s.  d. 
10  104 

5    30 
1  150 

1  56 

2  00 

1  150 

2  20 
0  130 
2    60 

0  16 

1  00 

2  150 

1  183 
0    28 
300 

2  26 


£38    99 


£14118 


Received  a  goat,  305.,  of  plantation  of  Watertown  rate,  which  died ;  writ 
on  the  other  side  of  the  said  paper  as  follows. 

£.  s.  d. 
Paid  Mr.  Weld  for  Richard  Harrington,  a  plasterer,        .  .        3  10  0 

Paid  him  in  corn,         .                                     ...  0  14  0 

Put  off  Watertown  rate,  loss,  .            .           .           .  2   00 

In  another  column,  thus. 

To  a  horse  and  charges  to  Linn,               .            .            .  .050 

To  Salem,  twice,        .            .        ,v .,,,        .            .           .  0  10  0 

At  Boston  and  Charlestown,  .           .            .            .  .100 


£7190' 


By  the  above  accounts  Shepard  disbursed, 


Total  of  Shepard's  disbursements, 
Total  of  his  receipts, 


229177 

38    99 

7190 

.£276    64 
.£251  158 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  455 

In  College  Book,  No.  I.,  p.  9,  Tyng's  account  is  thus  stated.  APPENDIX 

No.  I. 

"  Mr.  Tyng,  the  Treasurer  for  the  country,  has  given  in  the       Early  rec. 
following  account.  Colle°ethe 

Month  3d,  16th  day,  1644.  £.  d.  s. 

The  country  debtor  to  the  College  for  Mr.  Harvard's  estate, 

lent  to  it,  .  .  .  .  .  175    3  0 

Item  for  insufficient  pay  made  to  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard,  which 

he  abates  the  College,  .  .  .  .  .          1189 

Item  for  whatever  is  due  to  the  College  of  that  which  was 

sent  by  Mr.  Weld  and  Mr.  Peters, 
Item,  by  the  country's  gift  by  Court  act,  held  at  Boston,  8th 

of  the  7th,  1636.    See  Register,  p.  131.  .  .  400    0  0 

£  586    11  9 
The  country  hath  paid  the  College  as  follow eth. 

£.  s.  d. 

1639.  To  Mr.  Eaton  and  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard,  by  Mr.  Bel- 

lingham,  Treasurer  of  the  Cambridge  rate,  .  .          20    0  0 

1640.  To  Mr.  S.  Shepard  of  Watertown,  .  .  30  12  0 

1641.  To  Mr.  Shepard  from  Edmund  Angier,  of  Cambridge 

•     rate,  .  .  .  .  .  40    0  0 

Memorandum.  That  of  this  £  90  12s.  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard 
abates  the  College,  £  11  8s.  9d.  for  insufficiency  of  pay,  so 
that  the  College  hath  but  received  by  his  account  from  the 
country,  £  79  3s.  3d. 

1642.  Henry  Dunster  received  £  9,  of  which  12s.  Gd.  for 

printing  the  laws  ;  —  for  the  College  received, 
Item  of  Cambridge  rate,  first  and  last,  H.  Dunster 

received,  ..... 

Mr.  Sedgwick  £40,  from  Mr.  Stoughton  £  16,  of 

them  both,     ...... 

Item,  the  country  has  paid  Mr.  Allen  of  Hingham,  for 

4000  of  the  boards,         .... 


£  227  12  0  " 

College  Book,  No.  III.,  pp.  6  and  10,  contains  the  account  of  the 
receipts  of  Mr.  Dunster,  as  follows. 

"  A  particular  account  of  the  contributions  made  in  the  space  of 
eight  years,  for  the  benefit  of  the  scholars,  by  the  several  Colonies 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Plymouth  Hartford,  and  New  Haven. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

£.  s.    d.f. 

Boston,  .  .          84  18    7  2 

Salem,       .  .  .0000 


456  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  Charlestown,    .  .          37  16    2  0 


No-  T-                              Watertown, 

.      0 

0 

0  0 

Early  rec-                               Lvnn> 

1 

0 

0  0 

ordsofthe                              Ipswich, 
Colleee-                             Dorchester,      . 

.      5 

4 

0 
6 

0  0 
0  0 

Concord,    . 

.      8 

17 

4  0 

Dedham, 

4 

6 

6  0 

Cambridge, 

.      2 

15 

3  2 

Brantrey, 

5 

4 

3  0 

Glocester, 

.      0 

12 

0  0 

Maulden, 

0 

12 

6  0 

Rowley,     . 

.      7 

8 

7  2 

Roxbury, 

16 

18 

3  0 

Springfield  ,            . 

.      3 

0 

0  0 

Newbury, 

1 

10 

0  0 

Woburn,    .            . 

.      5 

13 

7  2 

Sudbury, 

1 

4 

3  0 

Weymouth, 

.      0 

0 

0  0 

King  ham, 

0 

0 

0  0 

Salisbury,               . 

.      0 

0 

0  0 

Hampton, 

0 

0 

0  0 

Andover, 

.      0 

0 

0  0 

llaverliill, 

0 

0 

0  0 

HARTFORD, 

Hartford, 

.     30 

17 

0  0 

Saybrook,         . 

2 

9 

0  0 

Windsor,               . 

.      5 

15 

0  0 

NEW  HAVEN, 

New  Haven, 

17 

11 

9  0 

Mfflford,    . 

.     10 

15 

6  0 

Stratford, 

6 

14 

0  0 

PLYMOUTH, 

191     3    50 


39     1    0  0 

35     1     3  0 

Plymouth  town,     .  4  13    0  0  4  13    0  0 

£269  18    80" 

In  College  Book  No.  III.,  p.  11,  the  account  of  Mr.  Dunster's 
disbursements  is  thus  stated. 

"  The  distribution  made  of  the  moneys  for  the  several  Colonies 

now  followeth. 

£.    s.   d. 

To  Mr.  Bulkley  and  Mr.  Downing,         .  8  18  6 

"       Samuel  Mather,  during  his  fellowship,       .  .            9    8  6i 

"       Samuel  Danforth,  Reader  and  Fellow  six  years,  .        56  13  8 

"       Jonathan  Mitchell,  Fellow  three  years,  .          26    0  0 

"      Comfort  Star,  Fellow  part  of  two  years,          .  11     0  0 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


457 


34    7 
10  16 
18    0 
4    0 
6    0 

6 
0 
0 
0 
0 

APPENDIX, 
No.  I. 

Early  rec- 
ords of  the 
College. 

2    0 

0 

22    8 

Oi 

11     5 

3i 

3    7 

6* 

2    6 

8 

2  16 

6 

6  10 

0 

9  13 

4 

9  12 

0 

18  11 

6 

10    7 

10i 

2    7 

Oi 

11  14 

84 

£298    5 

24 

To  Mr.  Samuel  Eaton,  Fellow  two  years  and  a  half, 
*      Urian  Oakes,      .... 
"      John  Collins,  .... 

"      Wigglesworth,  Fellow  half  a  year,       . 

"      White, 

"      Elija  Corlett,      .... 
Sir  Ames,  ..... 

John  Ames,  .... 

Mr.  John  Brock,  .... 

Mr.  Stirk,        ..... 
Sir  Hollett,  steward,         .... 
Sir  Phillips,  steward,  ... 

Sir  Ince,  ..... 

Bowers,  ..... 

Thompson,  .... 

James,  by  order  from  New  Haven,     . 
Six  students,  for  writing  for  the  churches, 
Mr.  Jenner's  sons,        .  .  .  . 


"  Memorandum.  The  several  donations  made  to  the  College 
during  the  time  Mr.  Dunster  was  President  of  said  College,  were 
by  said  Mr.  Dunster  received  and  distributed  according  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Overseers,  and,  on  the  balance  of  account  by  him 
made  at  the  resignation  of  his  place,  said  Mr.  Dunster  was  creditor 
to  the  College,  as  appeareth,  page  18,"  in  which  this  subject  is  thus 
stated. 

"Mr.  Dunster's  account  presented  to  the  College,  January  15, 
1654,  wherein  he  makes  himself  debtor  £  110,  195.  2|d.  and  gives 
himself  credit  for  .£119,  4s." 

Beneath  the  above  account  in  page  18,  Book  III.,  is  the  following 
record. 

"  By  order  of  the  Overseers,  paid  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Dunster,  the 
relict  widow  of  the  abovenamed  Henry  Dunster,  deceased,  in  full 
of  the  balance  of  account,  as  above,  and  for  all  other  demands,  by 
Thomas  Danforth,  Treasurer,  twenty  pounds." 

Neither  the  account  of  Eaton,  nor  of  Shepard,  nor  of  Dunster  ap- 
pears as  settled  on  these  books. 


From  the  preceding  accounts,  it  is  apparent,  that  Eaton 
received  from  Allen,  John  Harvard's  administrator,         .£200 
and,  if  the  .£20  specified  in  the  10th  item  of  his  account  was 
VOL.    I.  *ft 


0  0 


458  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  additional  to  this  sum,  he  then  received  also  20     0  0 

No.  I.  

Early  rec^    making  a  total  received  by  Eaton  from  Harvard's  estate,    220     0  0 

That  ShePard  received  from  the  town-rates 
of  Cambridge  and  Watertown,  or  from  "  the 
country,"  .  .  .  .  .£90  12  0 

from  which  deduct  "  insufficient  pay,"  as  ac- 
knowledged in  Tyng's  account,  .  1189 

£79    33 

He  received  from  the  Ferry,             .  50    0  0 
and  from  various  subscriptions  not  otherwise 
appearing  in  the  donation  books  of  the  Col- 
lege,                   122  12  5 

Shepard's  receipt,        .  .  .  251  15  8 

Dunster  received  from  the  contributions  of 
the  several  Colonies  as  stated  in  College  Book, 
No.  III.,  p.  10,  and  which  is  extracted  into 
Donation  Book,  Vol.  I.  p.  6,  in  exact  terms,  269  18  8 


Total  of  the  receipts  of  Eaton,  Shepard,  and 

Dunster,  .  .  .  <£741  14  4 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  following  cash 
gifts  are  stated  in  College  Book,  No.  III.,  pp.  5, 
6,  as  of  the  year  1G42,  and  which  do  not  appear 
in  either  of  the  above  accounts.  They  were 
probably  applied  to  the  erection  of  the  College 
buildings,  by  whomsoever  received.  To  this 
object  many  of  them  appear  to  be  specifically 
appropriated,  viz. 

Henry  Pool,  .  .  .  10    0  0 

Theophilus  Eaton,         .  40    0  0 

Richard  Russell,     .  .  .  .  900 

Edward  Jackson,  .  .  \  10     0  0 

Mr.  Wory,  .  .  .  .  400 

Mr.  Parish,  merchant,  .  .  300 

Mr.  Holbrook 22    0  0 

Mr.  Greenhill,  minister  of  God's  word  at  Stepney,  700 
Mr.  George  Glover,  .  .  .          200 

A  person  not  willing  his  name  should  be  known,  50     00 
Willis,  merchant  at  Boston,       .  .  700 

Wells,  of  Roxbury,  .  .  10    0  0 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  459 

Israel  Stoughton,  of  Dorchester,  .  500  APPENDIX, 

Richard  Parker,  of  Boston,  woollen  draper,  400 

John  Pratt,  of  Hartford,  .  400  Early  »c- 

i  cw  n  n    °™3  °f  the 

187  )  0    College. 

Total  of  all  cash  receipts  by  the  College,  so 

far   as  these   books  and   accounts   evidence, 

previous  to  1654,    .  ...  .  .        ,£928  14  4 

By  the  accounts  of  those  agents  it  appears 
that  Eaton  expended,  .  .         ,£301     00 

Shepard     "    .  .  .  276    6  4 

Dunster     "  .  .  .  298    5  2 

875  11  6 

It  is  sufficiently  apparent  from  the  above  accounts,  that  the  state- 
ment made  by  Governor  Endecott,  in  1655,  must  have  been  per- 
fectly correct. 

It  appears  by  College  Book,  No.  III.,  that  during  these  first 
eighteen  years,  besides  these  cash  donations,  there  were  others, 
either  of  specific  articles  or  in  money  appropriated  to  other  objects 
than  those  of  the  building,  viz.  <£200  by  the  magistrates  in  books. 

—  A  font  of  printing  letters  by  Mr.  Glover .£49  and  something 

more  by  gentlemen  in  Amsterdam,  for  furnishing  the  press  with 
letters.  —  ("  Benefactors  to  the  first  font  of  letters  for  printing  in 
Cambridge,  their  names  collected  by  L.  H.  [Leonard  Hoar]  in  1674 : 
Major  Thomas  Clarke,  Capt.  James  Oliver,  Capt.  Allen,  Capt.  Lake, 
Mr.  Stoddard,  Mr.  Freake,  Mr.  Hues."— College  Boole,  No.  I.  p.  32.) 

—  .£20  in  utensils,  by  Mr.  Bridges,  Mr.  Greenhill,  and  Mr.  Glover. 

—  £150    from  divers  gentlemen   and  merchants  in  England,  by 
William  Hibbons,  Thomas  Welde,  and  Hugh  Peters,  towards  fur- 
nishing the  Library  with  books. 

There  exists  no  distinct  book  of  records  of  the  Overseers  ante- 
cedent to  Leverett's  administration.  Their  meetings  are  found 
occasionally  entered  in  College  Books,  Nos.  I.,  HI.,  and  IV.,  among 
those  of  the  Corporation. 

The  Books  denominated  "  Records  of  the  Overseers,"  commence 
with  the  act  of  the  General  Court,  passed  in  December,  1707,  re- 
viving the  College  charter  of  1650,  and  have  been  kept  regularly 
since  that  time.  They  had  no  official  sanction  from  the  Overseers 
until  Nov.  1718,  when  the  following  vote  passed  that  board. 

"  1718,  12th  of  November.  It  was  voted,  that  the  votes  of  the 
Overseers  should  be  written  in  a  book  by  themselves,  and  that,  the 
book  should  be  produced  at  the  Overseers'  meetings." 


460  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX, 
No.  I. 

HARVARD'S  LEGACY.  —  See  p.  11. 

Harvard's  The  doubt  concerning  the  amount  received  from  Harvard's  bounty 
arises  from  the  fact,  that  only  two  accounts  of  that  period  contain 
any  acknowledgment  of  receipts  from  that  source. 

Eaton  acknowledges  (See  above,  p.  410  and  p.  411).  .£220  0  0 
and  Tyng,  the  country  treasurer  (See  above,  p.  413).  175  3  0 

£395  3  0 

This  is  about  halt  of  his  estate,  in  case  the  whole  did  not  exceed 
£800. 

The  contemporaneous  statements,  which  represent  his  whole 
estate  as  double  that  sum,  are  the  following. 

The  earliest  account  of  Harvard's  legacy  is  that  of  Governor 
Winthrop  (Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  II.  p.  342),  who  states,  that 
"  Mr.  Harvard  gave  to  the  College  about  £800."  Now  as  Harvard's 
bequest  was  not  specific,  but  only  "  the  half  of  his  estate,"  this 
statement  by  Winthrop  must  have  been  grounded  on  report ;  for  it 
was  made  before  1641,  and  it  appears  by  College  Book,  No.  I.,  p.  3, 
that  Harvard's  estate  had  not  been  settled  in  1643.  A  committee 
was  then  appointed  by  the  governors  of  the  College  to  give  Mr. 
Allen  an  acquittance.  This  appears  to  have  eventuated  in  paying 
over  the  balance  to  Tyng,  Treasurer  of  the  Colony,  who  credits  the 
College  with  £  175  3s.  as  received  from  Harvard's  estate,  and  lent 
to  the  country  in  1644. 

The  next  statement  of  the  amount  of  Harvard's  legacy  is  in  the 
Almanac  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Danforth  for  1648,  which  states  as 
follows. 

"  7  m°-  14  day,  1638.  John  Harvard,  Master  of  Arts,  of  Eman- 
uel  College  in  Cambridge,  deceased,  and  by  will  gave  the  half  of 
his  estate  (which  amounted  to  about  700  pounds),  for  the  erection 
of  the  College."  —  See  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  II.  p.  88. 

The  form  of  expression  here  used  may  imply,  that  the  whole  of 
Harvard's  estate  was  £700. 

The  next  early  statement  of  this  legacy  is  contained  in  the  auto- 
biography of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Shepard,*  and  is  in  these  words. 

"  The  Lord  put  it  into  the  heart  of  one  Mr.  Harvard,  who  died 
worth  £1600,  to  give  half  of  his  estate  to  the  erecting  of  the  school. 

»  Edited  by  the  Rev.  Nehemiah  Adams,  in  1832;  p.  64. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  461 

This  man  was  a  scholar,  and  pious  in  his  life,  and  enlarged  toward   APPENDIX, 
the  country,  and  the  good  of  it,  in  life  and  death,  but  no  sooner 
was  this  given,  but  Mr.  Eaton  (professing  valiantly,  yet  falsely  and   Harvard's 
most  deceitfully,  the  fear  of  God),  did  lavish  out  a  great  part  of  it." 

Thomas  Shepard  died  in  1649.  His  work  is  historical,  and 
written  probably  from  general  recollection.  Facts  are  brought 
together  in  it  without  regard  to  the  order  of  events.  Thus  the 
death  and  legacy  of  Harvard  are  mentioned  antecedent  to  the  date 
of  October,  1637,  which  was  nearly  a  year  before  Harvard's  death 
occurred.  What  he  states  may  be  regarded  as  the  popular  opinion 
at  the  time  his  Memoirs  were  written.  Harvard  died  in  September, 
1638,  and  Eaton  was  dismissed  in  September,  1639.  Eaton  ac- 
knowledges the  receipt  of  .£220,  of  Allen  (Harvard's  administra- 
tor). That  he  should  have  received  an  additional  sum  of  ^400, 
and  thus  "  lavished  "  upwards  of  £  600  in  the  course  of  one  year, 
should  credit  only  £  200,  and  bring  the  College  in  debt  £  100,  is 
incredible,  especially  as  no  intimation  of  such  receipt  anywhere 
appears. 

The  only  specific  statement  is  that  contained  in  College  Book, 
No.  III.  p.  1,  where  the  moiety  of  Harvard's  estate  is  stated  to  have 
been  .£779  17s.  ^d.* 

John  Dunton,  who  wrote  in  1686  ;t  Cotton  Mather,  |  who  wrote 
in  1696 ;  and  the  College  Donation  Book,  No.  1,  all  state  the  above 
to  be  the  amount.  Hubbard,  who  wrote  about  the  year  1680,  states 
it  at  £  700.  These  probably  all  derived  their  authority  from  College 
Book,  No.  III. 

For  all  general  purposes  the  statements  in  this  book  may  well  be 
considered  as  authentic.  But  it  has  been  doubted  whether,  consider- 
ing the  date  when  it  was  compiled,  its  referring  to  no  authority  for 
its  statements,  and  its  general  historical  character,  this  statement 
can  countervail  the  presumption  arising  from  the  fact,  that  the  only 
known  receipts  from  Harvard's  estate,  appearing  on  any  of  the 
College  Books,  are  those  of  Eaton,  amounting  to  .£220,  and  of 
Tyng,  the  College  Treasurer,  amounting  to  ,£175  3s.,  making  in 
all  .£395  3s.,  about  one  half,  supposing  the  whole  estate  was 
"  about  £  800  "  ;  and  from  this  farther  extraordinary  circumstance, 
that,  upon  the  supposition  the  half  of  his  estate  was  "  about  .£800," 


*  See  above,  p.  409. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Second  Series,  Vol.  II.  p.  106. 

J  Magnalia,  Vol.  IV.  p.  1. 


462 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  so  great  a  sum  as  nearly  £  400  should  have  been  received,  and 
No'  r'       no  mention  of  it  appear  in  the  accounts  of  Eaton  or  Shepard,  Dun- 
ster  or  Tyng,  or  in  any  other  contemporaneous  document.* 


No.  II.  — See  pp.  21,183. 


Informa- 
tion to  the 
General 
Court  in 
1655. 


INFORMATION  GIVEN  BY  THE  CORPORATION  AND  OVER- 
SEERS TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT.  9  MAY,  1055. 

"  May  9th,  1655.  A  brief  information  of  the  present  necessities  of 
the  College,  which  the  Corporation  do  desire  may,  by  the  concur- 
rence of  the  Overseers,  be  presented  to  the  consideration  of  the 
General  Court,  with  earnest  desires  of  their  speedy  and  effectual 
help  for  supply. 

"  First.  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Dunster,  as  expended  upon  account, 
near  £  40,  notwithstanding  that  he  hath  all  that  we  have  been  able  to 
pay  or  assign  him.  Justice  and  equity  requires  that  this  be  paid  him, 
being  due  debt,  and  apparent  upon  diligent  examination  of  accounts. 
Also,  besides  what  is  due  upon  a  strict  account,  that  former  motion 
sometimes  made  by  the  committee  of  a  hundred  pounds  to  be  al- 
lowed Mr.  Dunster  in  consideration  of  his  extraordinary  pains  in 
raising  up  and  carrying  on  the  College  for  so  many  years  past.  We 
desire  it  may  be  seriously  considered,  and  hope  it  may  make  much 
for  the  country's  honorable  discharge  in  the  hearts  of  all,  and  per- 
petual encouragement  of  their  servants  in  such  public  works,  if  it 
be  attended. 

"  Secondly.  The  College  building,  although  it  be  new  ground- 
silled  by  the  help  of  some  free  contributions  the  last  year,  yet  those 


*  The  Honorable  James  Savage,  the  learned  and  laborious  commentator  on 
the  early  history  of  Massachusetts,  has  suggested  to  the  author,  that  the  dis- 
crepancy between  the  popular  estimate  of  Harvard's  estate  and  the  amount 
found  acknowledged  to  have  been  received  from  it  on  the  books  of  the  Col- 
lege, may  have  arisen  from  the  circumstance,  that  Harvard,  who  had  at  the 
time  of  his  death  resided  only  a  year  in  the  country,  left  probably  a  considerable 
part  of  his  estate  in  England,  which  his  administrator  was  prevented  from 
obtaining,  by  the  distracted  state  of  the  times,  and  the  civil  wars  which 
ensued.  The  same  suggestion  may  account  for  the  fact,  that  no  trace  of 
Harvard's  will,  or  of  administration  granted  on  his  estate,  can  be  found  on 
the  public  records  of  the  Colony. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  463 

ceasing,  and  the  work  of  reparation  therewith  intermitted,  it  remains  APPENDIX, 
in  other  respects  in  a  very  ruinous  condition.     It  is  absolute  neces- 
sity that  it  be  speedily  new  covered,  being  not  fit  for  scholars  long  Informa- 

J  °  tion  to  the 

to  abide  in  as  it  is.     And  without  such  reparation  some  time  this  General 

summer  both  the  whole  building  will  decay,  and  so  the  former  1*65  5. 
charge  about  it  will  be  lost,  and  the  scholars  will  be  forced  to  de- 
part. So  that  either  help  must  be  had  therein,  or  else  (we  fear)  no 
less  than  a  dissolution  of  the  College  will  follow.  And  it  is  con- 
ceived that  it  will  need  a  hundred  pounds  to  set  it  in  comfortable 
repair.  All  the  estate  the  College  hath  (as  appears  by  the  inven- 
tory thereof)  is  only  its  present  buildings,  library,  a  few  utensils, 
with  the  press,  and  some  parcels  of  land  (none  of  which  can  be 
with  any  reason  or  to  any  benefit  sold  to  help  in  the  premises),  and 
in  real  revenue  about  twelve  pounds  per  annum  (which  is  a  small 
pittance  to  be  shared  among  four  Fellows),  besides  fifteen  pounds 
per  annum,  which,  by  the  donor's  appointment,  is  for  scholarships. 

"  The  steward's  stock  is  indebted  for  studies,  and  for  diet  of  former 
Fellows,  and  to  the  Steward's  personal  estate,  and  otherwise,  near 
as  much  as  it  is. 

"  Though  we  have  the  Ferry,  yet  what  the  produce  of  it  will  be 
we  have  no  certainty,  and,  whatever  it  be,  it  had  need  to  go  to 
the  Fellows,  until  there  be  some  other  provision  for  them. 

"The  revenue  of  the  press  (which  is  but  small)  must  at  present  be 
improved  for  the  finishing  of  the  print-house,  its  continuance  in  the 
President's  house  being  (besides  other  inconveniences),  dangerous 
and  hurtful  to  the  edifice  thereof. 

"The  study  rents,  until  December  last,  were  discounted  with  Mr. 
Dunster.  Since  that  time  they  have  been  inconsiderable.  And 
there  are  other  smaller  charges  (not  here  mentioned),  more  than 
will  be  answered  by  the  study  rents,  though  they  were  more  than 
they  be. 

"  Hence  it  appears,  that  the  Corporation  have  nothing  under  their 
hands  which  they  can  make  use  of,  either  for  payment  of  debts 
or  for  the  repairing  of  the  College. 

"  There  are  other  things  we  might  mention,  for  which  there  is 
much  need  of  help,  as,  viz.,  for  some  way  of  maintaining  College 
affairs  and  servants  by  public  stock,  that  so  the  scholars'  charges 
might  be  less,  or  their  Commons  better  ;  provision  of  utensils  want- 
ing in  the  kitchen  and  buttery,  accommodations  for  the  scholars' 
tables;  also  some  fitter  way  of  maintenance  for  the  Fellows. 

"But  we  are  not  willing  to  trouble  or  press  the  General  Court,  or 


464  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   others,  with  any  thing  that  we  can  make  shift  either  to  bear,  or  for 
the  time  to  wrestle  through.     These  two  things  above  mentioned, 
informa-       viz.  payment  of  debts  and  repairs  of  the  College,   are  of  present 
General         absolute  necessity ;   and   it  cannot  be  conceived  or  expected,  that 
'         particular  persons,  out  of  their  own  estates,  much  less  that  those 
who  are  (as  most  of  us  in  the  Corporation)  without  estates,  can 
carry  on  these  things  of  themselves. 

"If  this  work  of  the  College  be  thought  fit  to  be  upheld  and  con- 
tinued (as  we  hope  that  considerations  of  the  glory  of  God,  the 
honorable  interest  of  the  country,  the  good  of  posterity,  and  ex- 
perience of  the  benefits  and  blessings  thereof,  will  constrain  all  men 
to  say  it  is),  then  something  must  effectually  be  done  for  help  in  the 
premises. 

"We  are  loth  to  seem  burthensome  to  the  country  by  such  motions 
as  these ;  but  the  considerations  foregoing  have  called  upon  us 
(whom  the  country  have  been  pleased  to  employ  as  their  servants  in 
this  society)  to  make  this  faithful  representation  of  the  condition  and 
necessities  thereof,  that,  if  any  decay  or  ruin  to  so  good  and  im- 
portant a  work  as  this  is,  should  ensue  (which  we  hope  and  desire 
may  never  be),  we  might  not  afterwards  fall  under  blame  for  our 
silence. 

"We  confess  sundry  petitions  have  been  presented  to  the  General 
Court  in  the  College's  behalf  heretofore,  and  we  are  not  so  unthank- 
ful as  not  to  remember,  and  acknowledge,  that  sundry  efforts  for  our 
help  have  been  used,  and  that  a  considerable  matter  hath  been 
granted  for  the  President's  maintenance. 

"But  we  hope  all  will  consider,  partly,  not  so  much  what  hath  been 
said  or  attempted,  as  what  hath  been  done,  and  partly,  that  the 
things  above  mentioned  are  distinct  from  that  particular  of  the 
President's  future  maintenance,  and  that  unless  this,  of  repairing 
the  College  building,  be  added  thereto,  the  work  cannot  stand. 

"Also, concerning  the  promised  maintenance  of  the  President,  we 
desire  it  might  be  clearly  settled  in  some  such  way  as  may  be  com- 
fortable, and  that  it  may  be  commended  to  the  General  Court  to 
take  order  thereabout." 

"The  Magistrates  desire  that  their  brethren,  the  Deputies,  consider 
first  of  this  present  information.  It  is  a  matter  that  will  require 
serious  agitation  and  speedy  action. 

"JOHN  ENDECOTT,  Governor." 

"In  answer  to  what  hath  been  represented  to  this  Court  by  the 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  465 

Overseers  of  the  College,  in  reference  to  what  is  necessary  to  be  APPENDIX, 
done  there,  the  Deputies,  understanding  that  there  is  due  to  the 
College  from  the  country   about  an  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  for   Informa- 
which  we  pay  interest,  do  find  it  meet  that  the  said  £  150  be  added   General 
to  the  next  country  rate,  and  collected  by  the  constables,  to  be  paid      ^' 
to  the  country  treasurer,  and  by  him  to  the  College  treasurer,  or  whom 
else  this  Court  may  or  shall  appoint,  to  be  improved  for  the  repair- 
ing of  the  College,  and  to  satisfy  Mr.  Dunster  what  shall  be  truly 
due  to  him  on  account,  and  for  an  equal  distribution  of  the  same 
upon  the  several  towns.     It  is  ordered,  that  for  this  present  year 
there  shall  be  an  addition  of  one  fourth  part  more  to  the  country 
rate,  payable  from  each  town  for  the  use  and  ends  above  mentioned. 
The  Deputies  have  passed  this,  and  desire  our  honored  Magistrates' 
consent  thereto. 

"  WILLIAM  TORREY,  Clerk. 
"25  3d  mo.,  1655." 

"  The  Magistrates  cannot  consent  thereto  because  the  £  150  was 
given  by  the  Lady  Moulson,  and  others,  for  scholarships  annually  to 
be  maintained  there,  which  this  Court  cannot  alter ;  and  therefore 
desire  their  brethren,  the  Deputies,  to  consider  of  some  meet  way 
for  the  repairing  of  the  College,  which  is  at  so  great  hazard. 

"  The  Magistrates  desire  their  brethren,  the  Deputies,  to  send 
answer  to  their  return. 

"EDWARD  RAWSON,  Secretary. 

"JOHN  ENDECOTT,  Governor, 
21  June,  '55." 


No.  III.  — See  pp.  21,23. 
ANSWER  TO  MR.  DUNSTER'S  PETITION. 

"In  answer  to  the  particulars  of  Mr.  Dunster's  petition,*  besides   Answer  to 
what  is  agreed  by  the  Court,  viz.  That  no  petition  is  to  be  received  petition™ 
after  the  first  week  of  this  Court,  followeth,  viz. 


*  President  Dunster's  petition,  to  which  this  document  refers,  is  printed  at 
large  in  Peirce's  History  of  Harvard  University,  Appendix,  p.  151. 

VOL.  i.  59 


466 


APPENDIX, 
No.  III. 


Answer  to 

Dunster's 

petition. 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

"  1.  In  answer  to  that  section,  figure  1.  What  extraordinary  labor 
in,  about,  and  concerning  the  weal  of  the  College,  for  the  space 
of  fourteen  years  we  know  of  none,  but  what  was  the  President's 
duty  belonging  to  his  place ;  unless  he  can  show  the  particulars  of 
these  labors  which  were  extraordinary. 

"2.  In  answer  to  the  second.  It  is  most  unreasonable.  For  he 
may  protract  the  making  up  of  his  accounts  some  years,  and  there- 
by hinder  the  comfortable  being  of  him  who  is  chosen  to  the  work 
of  the  College.  What  the  President  can  make  justly  to  appear  to 
be  his  due,  it  must  be  paid  him  with  convenient  speed. 

"3.  This  Court  doth  not  think  it  meet,  for  reasons  (whereof  Mr. 
Dunster  is  not  ignorant),  and  well  known  to  this  Court,  to  grant  this 
part  of  the  petition.  What  other  laudable  or  liberal  calling,  besides 
preaching,  and  education  of  youth,  is  intended,  Mr.  Dunster  is  to 
explain  himself. 

"4.  We  see  no  ground  to  reverse  that  vote  referring  to  the  exami- 
nation of  the  accounts  of  Mr.  Glover's  estate.  And  we  judge  it 
necessary,  seeing  Mr.  Dunster  made  himself  administrator,  de  facto, 
of  all  that  estate,  and  never  presented  an  inventory  of  the  same  to 
the  General  Court,  in  so  many  years  past,  that  he  satisfy  all  due 
debts.  And  therefore  judge  it  unmeet  to  make  Mr.  Dunster  admin- 
istrator de  jure. 

"Agreed  on  by  the  Magistrates,  with  further  reference  to  our 
brethren,  the  Deputies. 

"  R.  BELLINGHAM,  Governor." 


No.  IV.  — See  pp.  25,  26,  27. 


PRESIDENT  CHAUNCY. 


President 
Chauncy. 


See  p.  25. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  24,8th,  1654.  It  is  agreed  by 
the  Overseers,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Richard  Mather  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  John  Norton  speak  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chauncy,  and,  as  they 
shall  see  cause,  encourage  him  to  accept  of  an  invitation  to  the 
presidency  of  the  College,  in  case  the  Overseers  give  him  a  call 
thereto. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  46? 

"  The  Magistrates  having  lately  consulted  with  the  rest  of  the  APPENDIX, 
Trustees  of  the  College   concerning  a  fit  person  to  be  President 
there,  have  fixed  their  thoughts  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chauncy,  who,   President 
though  he  is  returning  to  England,  yet,  if  this  Court  will  give  him 
some  small  addition,  by  way  of  encouragement,  to  the  President's 
stipend,   as   might    be   honorable   and   comfortable,   he   might  be 
stopped,  and   therefore  they  judge  it  meet  to  commend  it  to  the 
consideration  of  their  brethren,  the  Deputies,  in  the  first  place,  to 
declare  what  they  judge  meet  to  allow  him  in  that  respect, 

"EDWARD  RAWSON,  Secretary. 
"  30  Oct.,  1654." 

At  the  General  Court  holden  at  the  time  of  the  above  application 
from  the  Magistrates  (October,  1654),  an  order  was  passed,  that, 
"  besides  the  profit  of  the  ferry  formerly  granted  to  the  College, 
which  shall  be  continued,  there  be  yearly  levied  by  addition  to 
the  country  rates,  one  hundred  pounds  to  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer 
of  the  country  to  the  College  Treasurer  for  the  behoof  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  President  and  Fellows,  to  be  distributed  between  the 
President  and  Fellows,  according  to  the  determination  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  College,  and  this  to  continue  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
country." 

General  Court  Records,  Vol.  II.  p.  231. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers  of  the 
College,  2,  9,  1654. 

"  Mr.  Mather  and  Mr.  Norton  are  desired  by  the  Overseers  of  the 
College  to  tender  unto  the  Rev.  Mr.  Charles  Chauncy  the  place 
of  President,  with  the  stipend  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum, 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  country  treasury,  and  withal  to  signify  to  him, 
that  it  is  expected  and  desired,  that  he  forbear  to  disseminate  or 
publish  any  tenets  concerning  the  necessity  of  immersion  in  baptism, 
and  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  evening,  or  to  oppose  the 
received  doctrine  therein." 

"  General  Court,  May  23,  1655. 

"  The  Court  doth  grant  the  present  President,  Mr.  Chauncy,  five 
hundred  acres  of  land,  free  of  former  grants,  and  not  hindering 
a  plantation,  so  as  he  continue  in  the  place  three  years." 

Ibid.,  Vol.  IV.  p.  205. 


468  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  "  General  Court,  May  23,  1655. 

"  In  answer  to  the  petition  of  Mr.  Charles  Chauncy,  President  of 
President      Harvard  College,  the  Treasurer  is  desired  to  disburse  the  sum  of 

<£30,  to  furnish  his  necessary  occasions,  to  be  repaid  out  of  the  first 

rents  of  the  ferry." 


See  p.  26. 

"  Mr.  Chauncy's  Petition,  25th  8  mo.  '55. 

"  To  the  Honored  Governor  of  the  Massachusetts,  Mr.  John  Ende- 
cott,  and  the  rest  of  the  Honorable  Bench  and  Honorable 
General  Court,  the  petition  of  Charles  Chauncy,  President  of 
Harvard  College. 

"  First  of  all  thankfully  acknowledging  God's  gracious  providence 
in  so  disposing  your  hearts  to  call  your  petitioner  to  this  place,  with 
promise  of  your  liberal  maintenance,  allowing  him  £  100  per  annum, 
which  also,  in  regard  of  the  manner  of  the  payment  hath  been  or- 
dered to  be  amended  somewhat  at  your  last  session.  Yet  withal, 
judging  himself  bound  further  to  acquaint  the  Honorable  Bench  and 
whole  Court  with  his  condition  in  the  particulars  following  : 

"1.  That  the  former  allotment  and  portion  of  English  corn 
designed  to  your  petitioner  at  the  last  session  hath  been  expended 
for  the  payment  of  debts  due  for  necessaries  requisite  for  your 
petitioner's  fitting  and  supply  in  the  College,  with  much  more 
afforded  by  the  kindness  of  the  worthy  Treasurer,  and  also  the  ex- 
pense of  an  £  100  or  thereabout  of  your  petitioner's  own  estate, 
since  his  entrance  into  this  place. 

"  2.  That  the  residue  of  the  country  pay,  being  Indian  corn,  will 
neither  pass  for  food  nor  clothing. 

"  3.  That  if  any  part  thereof  by  entreaties  be  put  oflf,  twelve 
pence  or  eight  pence  in  the  bushel  must  be  lost. 

"  4.  That  there  is  no  ground  belonging  to  the  President  to  keep 
any  cattle  upon,  so  that  neither  milk,  butter,  nor  cheese,  can  be 
had  but  by  the  penny. 

"  5.  That  the  country's  allowance  is  and  must  be  your  petitioner's 
whole  means  of  subsistence,  having  no  other  means  of  farm  or  rents 
which  the  former  President  had,  and  others  have,  that  have  any 
allowance  made  them  by  the  country. 

"  6.  That  what  benefit  your  petitioner  may  be  supposed  to  receive 
by  the  Commencement  is  hardly  sufficient  to  defray  the  charges 
thereof. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  469 

"  7.  That  your  petitioner's  family  consists  necessarily  of  ten  per-  APPENDIX, 
sons,  that  must  needs  be  very  chargeable.  ^ 1_ 

"  8.  That  the  greatness  and  multitude  of  College  businesses  doth 
require  the  whole  man,  and  one  free  from  other  distractions. 

"  In  regard  of  all  which,  though  your  petitioner  be  not  desirous  to 
put  the  country  to  further  charge,  yet  he  desires  the  Honored  Bench 
and  Court  in  their  wisdom  to  provide  for  him  according  to  the 
pressing  exigency  of  his  condition,  to  remove  his  grievances  that 
God  may  not  be  dishonored,  nor  the  country  blemished,  nor  your 
petitioner  and  his  family  cast  upon  temptations,  or  enforced  to  look 
out  to  alter  his  condition. 

"  Your  unworthy  servant,  to  my  power, 

"  CHARLES  CHAUNCY." 


See  p.  27. 

"  President  Chauncy's  Petition,  May  27th,  1663. 

"  To  the  Honored  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  John  Endecott, 
Esq.,  with  the  residue  of  the  Honored  Bench  of  Assistants, 
and  the  Honored  Court  of  Deputies. 

"  The  humble  petition  of  Charles  Chauncy,  President  of  Har- 
vard College,  in  Cambridge,  as  followeth. 

"  Whereas  your  petitioner  hath  continued,  with  much  toil  and 
many  grievances  and  temptations,  in  the  College  about  eight  years ; 
all  which  time,  his  family  being  great,  the  stipend  allowed  him  by 
the  Honored  Court  hath  been  insufficient  for  his  comfortable  sub- 
sistence, and  the  maintenance  of  his  family  with  necessary  supplies 
of  food  and  raiment ;  for  want  whereof  he  hath  been  forced  both  to 
expend  his  own  estate  that  he  brought  with  him,  and  is  besides  by 
this  means  run  far  into  debt. 

"  And  in  respect  that  the  President  hath  no  fit  provision  either 
of  land  to'keep  so  much  as  one  cow  or  horse  upon,  or  of  habitation 
to  be  dry  and  warm  in.  Also  seeing  that  there  are  no  Colleges 
in  our  English  Universities  (wherein  the  petitioner  hath  continued 
long),  but  that  the  Presidents  thereof,  beside  their  yearly  stipend, 
are  allowed  their  diet,  with  other  necessary  provisions  according 
to  their  wants. 

"  Your  petitioner,  with  all  due  observance,  entreats  the  Honored 
Court  not  to  take  offence,  if  necessity  constraining,  no  redress  being 
made  of  such  intolerable  grievances  and  temptations  now  suggested, 


470 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


President 
Chauncy. 


APPENDIX,   he  shall  take  his  liberty  upon  other  opportunities  presented  to  em- 
No,  iv.      Drace  them,   though  notwithstanding  his  President's   place   in   the 
College. 

"  He  desires  also,  that  this  petition  may  not  be  put  by  as  unsea- 
sonable, some  other  disappointments  hindering  before ;  so  shall 
your  petitioner  be  further  engaged  to  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

"  Your  Worships'  humbly  devoted  in  the  Lord, 

"  CHARLES  CHAUNCY." 


"  June  9th,  1663. 

"  We  conceive  the  country  have  done  honorably  towards  the 
recompense  and  encouragement  of  the  Petitioner  both  for  annual 
allowance  and  grant  of  land,  and  that  his  parity  with  English 
Colleges  is  not  pertinent,  and  as  for  other  things  respecting  his 
removal,  that  it  properly  belongs  to  the  feoffees  of  the  College,  and 
that  it  be  referred  unto  them. 

"  RICHARD  RUSSELL. 

"EDWARD  JOHNSON. 

"JOSEPH  HILLS." 

"The  Deputies  do  not  concur  with  the  committee  in  answer 
thereunto,  but  in  regard  to  the  urgent  necessities  of  the  Petitioner, 
do  judge  meet  that  there  be  allowed  five  pounds  a  quarter  out  of  the 
country  treasury  to  supply  his  wants,  and  this  to  be  and  continue 
during  the  country's  pleasure,  with  reference  to  the  consent  of  the 
Honorable  Magistrates  hereto. 

"  WILLIAM  TORREY,  Clerk. 
"June  13th,  1663." 

"  The  Magistrates  consent  not  thereto. 

"  EDWARD  RAWSON,  Secretary." 


Subscrip- 
tions for 
building 
Harvard 
Hall. 


No.  V.  — See  p.  31. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS  FOR  BUILDING  HARVARD  HALL. 

The  voluntary  contributions  made  on  this  occasion  by  the  towns 
in  Massachusetts,  with  the  amount  subscribed  by  each,  may  be 
found  at  large  in  Appendix,  No.  XXIII. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  47  | 

APPENDIX, 
No.  VI 

No.  VI.  —  See  p.  34. 
PRESIDENT  HOAR  AND  PRESIDENT  OAKES. 

Dr.  Hoar  was  elected  July  30th,  1672,  and  inaugurated  September   President 
10th,  1672.  —  College  Book,  No.  I.  p.  49. 

"  September  15th,  1673.     At  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  at  the   President 
College  in  Cambridge,  Mr.  Urian  Oakes,  Mr.  Joseph  Brown,  and 
Mr.  John  Richardson  declared  that  they  resigned  up  their  places 
of  Fellows  in  the  College."  —  College  Book,  No.  III.  p.  62. 

"October  2d,  1673.  It  was  voted,  that  Mr.  Urian  Oakes  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Shepard  be  requested  to  continue  their  assistance  to  the 
College  as  Fellows,  according  as  they  were  formerly  appointed 
thereto,  and  that  Captain  D.  Gookin  and  the  President  are  desired 
to  acquaint  them  with  the  mind  of  the  Overseers  thereon."  —  Ibid., 
p.  62. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers  of  the 
College,  at  Boston,  December  3d,  1674.  The  Overseers  do  com- 
mend it  to  the  President  and  Fellows,  now  remaining,  that  they 
take  care  speedily  to  fill  up  their  number,  according  to  their  charter, 
that  so  their  power  and  privilege,  granted  them  by  the  General 
Court,  may  not  be  weakened  nor  abated  in  any  kind.  —  Taken  out 
of  the  Old  Overseers  Book,  p.  62."  —  Ibid.,  p.  64. 

"December  llth,  1674.  Present,  the  President,  Mr.  Gookin,  Sir 
Thatcher,  Mr.  Richards.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Urian  Oakes,  Mr.  Thomas 
Shepard,  and  Increase  Mather,  chosen  Fellows  of  the  College,  to 
fill  up  the  Corporation  in  its  number  of  seven,  which  vote  the  Presi- 
dent is  to  acquaint  them  with,  and  to  receive  their  answer  in  order 
to  their  instalment."  —  Ibid.,  p.  64. 

No  answer  was  given  by  any  one  of  the  above  elected  persons, 
until  after  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Hoar,  as  appears  by  the  following 
vote  and  record. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers  of  the 
College,  at  Cambridge,  15,  1,  1674-5,  Mr.  Urian  Oakes  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Shepard  being  orderly  elected  Fellows  of  the  College,  and 
presented  by  the  Corporation  for  their  allowance,  they  were  accord- 
ingly accepted  and  entreated  to  accept  that  trust. 

"  Dr.  Leonard  Hoar  made  a  resignation  of  his  presidency  of  the 
College."—  Ibid.,  p.  66. 


472  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,       The  remaining  votes  concerning  the  election  of  Mr.  Oakes  are 

No-  vr"      the  following. 

President  «  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  7th  April,  1675.  Mr.  Urian 
Oakes  was  desired  to  give  his  answer  to  a  former  motion  of  the 
Overseers  to  accept  of  the  place  of  President  of  the  College  pro 
tempore. 

"  In  answer  whereto  he  declared  a  deep  sense  of  his  unfitness  for 
the  work,  yet,  considering  the  present  exigency  the  society  was  now 
in,  and  confiding  in  the  Overseers  seasonably  to  endeavour  the 
settling  a  fit  person  for  that  work,  manifesting  his  willingness  to 
accept  of  that  place  for  a  time,  God  enabling  by  health  and  strength, 
and  so  far  as  his  church  consented." — Ibid.,  p.  66. 

From  this  time  the  records  show  that  he  was  present  and  acted 
as  President  of  the  College. 

"Overseers'  meeting,  27th,  8th,  (October)  1675.  Mr.  Urian 
Oakes  is  elected  President  of  Harvard  College,  and  by  the  Over- 
seers importuned  to  accept  said  place  and  trust."  —  Ibid.,  p.  G7. 

"  14,  3d  (June)  1677.  Mr.  John  Rogers  of  Ipswich  then  chosen 
President  of  the  College  nemine  contradicente."  —  College.  Book, 
No.  I.  p.  55  ;  also  No.  III.  p.  67. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  at  Cambridge,  June  30,  1679, 
voted,  That  the  Worshipful  Mr.  Stoughton  be  desired  and  empow- 
ered to  provide  a  President  of  the  College,  and  that,  the  Honorable 
Overseers  concurring  herewith,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Oakes  be  entreated  to 
write  to  Mr.  Stoughton  accordingly  in  the  name  of  the  Corpora- 
tion."— College  Boole,  No.  I.  p.  55 ;  No.  III.  p.  69. 

"  At  a  Corporation  meeting,  2d  day,  12  mo.  (February)  1679, 
Mr.  Urian  Oakes  was  chosen  President  of  Harvard  College,  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  Fellows  of  said  College,  desiring  the  ap- 
probation of  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Overseers."  —  College 
Book,  No.  I.  p.  56 ;  No.  III.  p.  70. 

"  February  9th,  1679.  The  Overseers  approve  of  the  choice  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Urian  Oakes  to  the  office  of  President  in  the  College, 
and  request  the  Worshipful  William  Stoughton,  Joseph  Dudley,  and 
Peter  Bulkley,  Esqrs.,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Eliot,  and  Mr.  In- 
crease Mather,  to  present  their  desires  to  Mr.  Oakes  and  the  church 
at  Cambridge,  for  his  acceptance  of  said  trust,  and  their  concurrence 
therein." 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  Urian  Oakes  was  installed  President  of  Harvard 
College  by  Governor  Bradstreet  in  the  College  Hall,  on  the  Com- 
mencement day  in  August,  1680."  —  College  Book,  No.  III.  p.  71. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  473 

Several  of  the  above  records  are  inserted  in  the  margin  of  College   APPENDIX, 
Book,  No.   III.  in  the  handwriting  of  John    Leverett,   afterwards 
President  of  the  College,  and  are  stated  to  be  from   "  the  Old  Over-  President 

Oakes. 
seers'  Book,    which  is  now  lost. 


No.  VII.— See  p.  41. 

ORIGINAL  GRANT  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

By  Tyng,  the  country  Treasurer's  account,*  it  is  evident,  that  the   Original 
original  grant  of  ,£400  was  in  1644  acknowledged  to  be  a  debt  on   General 
account,  and  that,  after  the  charge  of  all  rates  received,  a  balance  Court- 
of  upwards  of  .£350  is  apparently  due.     That  it  had  not  been  paid 
on  the  1 3th  of  the  ensuing  November,  appears  also  by  the  follow- 
ing vote,  passed  on  that  day  by  the  General  Court. 

"  The  13th  of  the  9th  mo.  A.  1644.  It  was  ordered  that  Mr. 
Dunster,  President  of  the  College  at  Cambridge,  shall  have  £  150 
assigned  to  him  (to  be  gathered  by  the  Treasurer  for  the  College) 
out  of  the  money  due  for  the  children  sent  out  of  England,  to  be 
expended  for  a  house  to  be  built  for  the  said  President,  in  part  of 
the  i£400  promised  unto  him  for  his  use,  to  belong  to  the  College." 

That  no  part  of  the  above  ^150  was  ever  paid,  is  concluded  from 
this,  that  Mr.  Dunster,  in  his  petition  in  November,  1654,  to  the 
legislature,  speaks  of  the  President's  house  as  "  the  place,  which, 
upon  very  damageful  conditions  to  myself,  out  of  love  to  the  College, 
I  have  buildcd."  Now  if  the  General  Court  had  paid  towards  his 
house  so  great  a  sum,  it  can  hardly  be  imagined  he  would  have 
failed  to  notice  it,  or  would  have  ventured  to  take  all  the  credit  of 
building  it  to  himself.  Besides,  it  appears  by  the  vote,  that  this 
£  150  was  to  be  paid  out  of  a  particular  fund,  viz.  "  the  money  due 
for  the  children  sent  out  of  England,"  and  from  their  agent's  (Mr. 
Welde's)  account.  This  was  not  settled  until  1651,  as  appears  by 
the  language  of  a  committee  of  the  General  Court.  "  The  com- 
mittee had  little  benefit  from  those  moneys,  the  entire  balance  of 
Welde's  account  not  exceeding  ^200;  which,  after  payments  of 
sums  enumerated  below,  subscribed  and  included  in  that  account, 

*  See  above,  p.  455. 

VOL.  i.  60 


474  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   as  belonging  to  the  College,  did  not  leave  but  little  more  than  £40 
°*      r'      received  on  account  of  the  children,  and  probably,  considering  other 


Original        deductions,  did  not  leave  any  thing." 

grant  of  the  * 

General  The  above  appears  on  a  settlement  of  Welde's  account,  made  on 

the  25th  of  the  8th  month,  1651,  and  is  signed, 

Increase  Nowell. 

William  Tyng. 

Edward  Jackson. 

Nathaniel  Duncan. 
The  enumerated  sums  are, 

Lady  Moulson's  gift  for  the  College,        .  .  £  100     0  0 

Mr.  Bridge's  "  50     0  0 

Other  small  gifts  "  .  12  16  4 


£  162  16  4 

From  no  evidence  now  known  does  it  appear,  that  the  sum  of 
.£400  was  ever  paid  over  specifically  to  the  College,  so  as  to  con- 
stitute a  part  of  its  available  funds,  except  to  the  amount  stated  in 
Tyng's  account. 

The  General  Court  probably  deemed  their  obligations  sufficiently 
performed  by  the  grant  of  the  Ferry  between  Charlestown  and 
Boston,  and  by  the  annual  grants  made  for  the  support  of  the 
President. 


No.  VIII.  —  See  p.  49. 
COLLEGE  SEAL. 

College  This  conjecture  is  founded  on  the  following  records,  the  only 

ones  extant  concerning  the  College  seal  and  arms  except  that  stated 
in  page  48. 

"At  a  Corporation  meeting  at  Harvard  College,  June  llth,  1694. 

"  Memorandum.  That  Mr.  Newman's  proposal  about  procuring 
the  College  arms  at  Bilboa  is  left  to  the  President's  consideration 
and  determination."  —  College  Book,  No.  IV.  p.  3. 

That  the  College  arms  were  at  this  time  procured,  and  from  Mr. 
Newman,  is  proved  by  a  record  in  the  same  College  Book,  p.  49. 
In  Treasurer  Brattle's  account,  there  stated,  is  the  following  item. 

"  1694,  July  20.  To  cash  paid  Mr.  Newman  to  get  the  College 
arms  cut,  £  5." 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


475 


APPENMX, 
No.  IX. 

No.  IX.*  —  See  pp.  79,  81,  85,  89,  91,  92,  93,  95,  96,  97. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  PRESIDENT  MATHER'S  DIARY. 

See  p.  79. 

"  1693.    June  30th.     At  the  Governor's,  where,  in  discourse  with   Extracts 
Dr.  Cook,  and  Oakes,  they  both  denied  that  they  ever  said,  that  they    ^ent  Math" 
could  have  saved  the  old  charter  if  it  had  not  been  for  me,  and  that   er's  DiaiT- 
I  had  betrayed  the  country,  I  declared  I  was  willing  to  forgive  the 
wrongs  they  had  done  me." 


See  p.  81. 

"  1693.  September  "3d.  As  1  was  riding  to  preach  at  Cambridge, 
I  prayed  to  God,  —  begged  that  my  labors  might  be  blessed  to  the 
souls  of  the  students;  at  the  which  I  was  much  melted.  Also 
saying  to  the  Lord,  that  some  workings  of  his  Providence  seemed  to 
intimate,  that  I  must  be  returned  to  England  again ;  and  saying, 
'  Lord,  if  it  will  be  more  to  your  glory,  that  I  should  go  to  England 
than  for  me  to  continue  here  in  this  land,  then  let  me  go ;  otherwise 
not.'  I  was  inexpressibly  melted,  and  that  for  a  considerable  time, 
and  a  stirring  suggestion,  that  to  England  I  must  go.  In  this  there 
was  something  extraordinary,  either  divine  or  angelical." 

"  October  29M.  As  I  was  riding  thither  (to  Cambridge),  all  the 
way  between  Charlestown  and  Cambridge  I  conversed  with  God  by 
soliloquies  and  prayer.  I  was  much  melted  with  the  apprehension 
of  returning  to  England  again  ;  strongly  persuaded  it  would  be  so  ; 
and  that  God  was  about  to  do  some  great  thing  there,  so  that  I 
should  have  a  great  opportunity  again  to  do  service  to  his  name." 

"  December  30/A.  Meltings  before  the  Lord  this  day  when  praying, 
desiring  being  returned  to  England  again,  there  to  do  service  to  his 
name,  and  persuasions  that  the  Lord  will  appear  therein." 

"  1694.  January  %7th.  Prayers  and  supplications  that  tidings  may 
come  from  England,  that  may  be  some  direction  to  me,  as  to  my 
returning  thither  or  otherwise,  as  shall  be  most  for  his  glory." 

"  March  ]'3th.     This  morning  with  prayers  and  tears  I  begged  of 

*  Under  this  number  of  the  Appendix  are  arranged  all  the  passages  from 
President  Mather's  Diary,  referred  to  in  this  work ;  except  such  as  are  quoted 
at  length  in  the  text. 


476  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  God  that  I  might  hear  from  my  friends  and  acquaintance  in  England 
something  that  should  encourage  and  comfort  me.     Such  tidings 


Extracts        are  coming,  but  I  know  not  what  it  is.     God  has  heard  me." 

from  Presi- 
dent Math-        "1696.      April  9th.     This  morning  as  I  was  reading  in  course 

Matt.  viii.  13,  it  was  with  a  strong  hand  impressed  upon  my  spirit, 
as  I  had  believed,  that  God  would  return  me  to  England,  and  there 
give  me  an  opportunity  greatly  to  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  so 
it  shall  be  done  unto  me.  I  was  wonderfully  melted  with  assurance 
that  so  it  will  be.  And  after  that,  again,  as  I  was  praying  in  my 
study.  In  the  mean  time  the  Lord  help  me  diligently  to  improve  my 
time,  to  do  all  the  good  I  can  in  New  England  ;  which,  oh !  how 
little  it  is  that  1  am  capable  of  doing,  because  I  want  wisdom  and 
grace." 

"  April  19th.  (Sabbath.)  In  the  morning,  as  I  was  praying  in  my 
closet,  my  heart  was  marvellously  melted  with  the  persuasion,  that 
I  should  glorify  Christ  in  England.  So  again,  as  I  was  praying 
and  using  soliloquies  with  the  Lord  in  my  study  between  the  public 
meetings." 

"  April  %6th.  The  persuasions  which  have  been  in  my  heart  con- 
cerning that  matter  (going  to  England),  I  cannot  help.  '  They 
were  wrought  in  me  with  fastings  and  prayings  by  the  Lord. 
Also  on  Lord's  day,  when  I  have  been  most  in  the  Spirit;  and  I  have 
left  that  matter  wholly  with  God." 

"  May  %d.  I  was  wonderfully  affected  this  day  with  suggestions 
and  impressions  on  my  spirits,  that  tidings  are  coming  from  England 
which  will  revive  me,  and  let  me  see,  that  my  prayers  are  heard,  and 
that  my  faith  shall  not  suffer  a  disappointment." 

"June  18th.  God  has  given  me  to  see  answers  of  prayer  and  faith, 
which  I  have  made  with  respect  to  my  having  an  opportunity  to 
glorify  Christ  in  England,  shall  not  be  disappointed.  Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul ! " 


See  p.  85. 

"  1696.  December  llth.  I  was  with  the  Representatives  in  the 
General  Court,  and  did  acquaint  them  with  my  purpose  of  under- 
taking a  voyage  for  England  in  the  Spring  (if  the  Lord  will),  in 
order  to  the  attainment  of  a  good  settlement  for  the  College." 

"December  28M.  The  General  Court  have  done  nothing  for 
the  poor  College.  Only  the  Council  has  undone  what  was  by  the 
advice  of  the  ministers  consented  unto  by  the  Representatives.  The 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  477 

Corporation  are  desirous  that  I  should  go  to  England  on  the  Col-  APPENDIX, 
lege's  account."  _^™L_ 

_^___  Extracts 

from  Presi- 
dent Math- 
See  p.   89.  er's  Diary. 

"  1696.  October  3d.  Things  are  in  a  great  confusion  in  New 
England.  Divisions  in  the  General  Court.  The  College  unsettled. 
The  Representatives  have  assented  to  a  resettlement.  The  Coun- 
cil obstructs." 

"  16^7.  March  20<A.  There  are  miserable  confusions  and  di- 
visions in  Watertown,  Cambridge,  Charlestown,  and  at  the  South 
Church  in  Boston.  The  College  still  is  unsettled.  Humble  request 
to  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  he  would  order  the  resettlement  of  the 
College  in  mercy,  direct  the  General  Court,  now  sitting,  as  to  that 
matter,  and  me  also  how  to  act  therein." 

"  March  24fA.  This  morning  I  was  sent  to  Watertown,  where 
was  a  Council  of  five  churches,  and  an  ordination  of  two  minis- 
ters (Mr.  Angier  and  Mr.  Gibbs)  intended,  but,  because  of  dis- 
sensions in  the  church,  there  was  no  ordination.  The  like  not 
known  in  New  England." 


See  p.  91. 

"  1697.  June  7th.  Discourse  with  ministers  about  the  College, 
and  the  Corporation  unanimously  desired  me  to  take  a  voyage  for 
England  on  the  College's  account." 

"June  12//t.  As  to  personal  concerns,  the  Corporation  has  this 
week  desired  me  to  undertake  a  voyage  to  England  on  the  College's 
account.  Also  the  Representatives  and  the  Governor  have  voted  a 
concurrence  therein.  The  matter  is  now  before  the  General  Court. 
The  Lord  appear  and  direct  therein  to  his  own  glory  and  my 
rejoicing  in  the  day  of  its  still  preventing  my  going  for  England, 
except  that  will  be  for  the  best." 

"  June  15th.     The  Representatives  this  day  undid  their  votes." 

"  July  3d.  The  College  is  in  a  ticklish  state  because  of  the  spirit 
in  the  General  Court ;  the  Representatives  there  having  voted  and 
unvoted  what  concerns  the  settlement  of  the  College." 

"  July  17th.  I  am  discouraged  about  the  College,  and  inclined  to 
resign  the  Presidentship.  The  Lord  help  me  to  set  aside  all  selfish 
respects,  and  so  do  what  shall  be  most  pleasing  to  him. 


478  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,       "  Mem.     A  special  ground  of  my  setting  apart  this  day  by  fasting 
°'  IX"      and  prayer  to  serve  the  Lord,  was  because  of  my  being  much  dis- 


Extracts        tressed  in  my  spirit,  lest  my  faith  as  to  an  opportunity  to  do  service 
from  Presi-  '  .  ' 

dent  Math-  and  promote  the  glory  of  Christ  in  England  should  suffer  a  dis- 
appointment, since  it  has  been  so  long  a  time  delayed.  But,  in 
prayer,  as  I  was  before  the  Lord,  I  was  melted  with  hopes  of  re- 
ceiving tidings  coming  from  England." 

"  August  7th.  I  am  determined  (with  the  Lord's  leave)  to  resign 
my  relation  to  the  College  the  next  week,  having  desired  a  Corpo- 
ration meeting  for  that  end.  The  Lord  guide  and  supply  the  Col- 
lege with  a  better  than  I  am  ;  pardoning  my  many  defects,  and 
that  I  have  done  'no  more  good  for  the  poor  College." 

"  August  12</t.  Corporation  meeting  at  Mr.  Allen's  about  College 
affairs,  when  I  desired  to  resign  the  Presidentship  ;  but  they  urged 
me  to  continue  still  to  preside,  expecting  a  Governor  from  England." 

"  September  3rf.  In  the  College,  matters  are  uncomfortable.  There 
is  a  difficulty  as  to  choosing  new  Tutors.  My  discouragements  are 
such,  that  I  am  fully  purposed  to  resign  the  Presidentship." 

"September  15th.  At  College  to  attend  a  Corporation  meeting, 
when  I  intended  to  resign  the  Presidentship ;  but,  it  being  a  stormy 
day,  there  wanted  one  to  make  a  sufficient  number  for  a  Corpo- 
ration meeting." 

"  September  26<7«.  Surely  this  Lord's  day  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
melted  my  heart,  that  he  has  work  for  me  to  do  in  England,  and 
that  there  I  shall  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  do  service  for 
his  name,  interest,  and  kingdom,  in  the  world." 

"  November  7th.  This  evening  again  melting  persuasions  that 
I  shall  have  an  opportunity  and  advantage  put  into  my  hands  to 
glorify  Christ  in  England." 

"  1698.  January  29#A.  This  day  again  my  soul  was  inexpressibly 
melted  with  persuasions  that  there  is  work  for  me  to  do  in  England 
by-and-by,  and  that  there  I  shall  glorify  Christ." 

"  March  19th.  As  to  my  ever  being  returned  to  England,  there 
to  glorify  the  name  of  Christ,  which  I  have  so  often  with  tears 
believed,  the  Lord  order  that  important  affair  in  much  mercy  !  and, 
if  any  letters  are  sent  to  me  that  may  be  directory  in  that  matter, 
let  the  gracious  providence  of  God  cause  them  to  come  safe  to 
my  hands  !" 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  479 

APPENDIX, 

See  p.  92.  NO.  ix. 

Extracts 

"  1698.    April  16th.     The  expected  Governor  is  arrived  at  New   from  Presi- 

•V        1  T       i  II      •      *  »  dent   Matl1' 

xork.     Let  me  turn  all  into  prayer.  cr's  Diary. 

"  April  18th.  This  morning  I  experienced  inexpressible  meltings 
of  soul,  with  persuasions  that  God  has  work  for  me  to  do  in  Eng- 
land, and  that  there  I  shall  glorify  the  dear  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  may  be,  the  next  vessel  from  London  will  give  me  to  understand 
that  which  will  make  me  wonder  at  the  infinitely  condescending 
grace  of  God,  who  has  vouchsafed  to  deal  familiarly  with  a  poor 
sinful  creature."  » 

"  May  5lh.  The  Corporation  of  the  College  met,  and  unanimously 
concurred  in  an  address  to  the  Governor,  desiring  him  to  encourage 
my  going  to  England  on  the  College  account." 

"  May  12f/t.  The  Corporation  met  at  Mr.  Willard's,  and  ap- 
pointed a  messenger  to  go  to  the  Governor,  desiring  him  to  assist 
my  going  to  England  on  the  College's  account.  This  day  also  a 
"letter  came  from  Sir  H.  Ashurst  to  the  Council,  desiring  them  to 
encourage  me  therein.  These  things  are  astonishing  to  me.  What 
shall  I  do  for  God  and  Jesus  Christ ! " 

"  May  \4th.  The  Fellows  of  the  College  are  sending  an  address  to 
the  Governor,  praying  him  to  encourage  my  undertaking  a  voyage 
for  England  on  the  College's  account.  Also  this  week  a  letter  has 
come  to  the  Governor  from  Sir  H.  Ashurst  to  encourage  them 
therein.  Turn  this  into  prayer." 

"  May  2SM.  And  whereas  one  of  the  fellows  of  the  College  has 
sent  in  an  address  to  the  Governor  about  my  going  to  England,  on 
which  account  probably  the  matter  will  come  before  the  General 
Court,  now  sitting,  the  Lord  in  mercy  appear  in  this,  and  overrule 
all  matters  so  that  I  may  see  the  Lord  directing  us." 

"  June  llth.  The  Governor  has  written  from  New  York,  that  the 
act  of  the  General  Court  about  the  College  will  not  obtain  the 
Royal  approbation  in  England  ;  that  the  College  sending  me  to 
England  will  be  of  use.  The  matter  is  now  under  consideration  in 
the  Assembly.  The  Lord  overrule  this  affair  to  his  own  glory,  and 
so  as  that  I  may  see  his  holy  hand  pointing  to  me  what  I  should  do." 

"  June  26M.  This  Lord's  day  I  had  such  communion  with  God, 
and  received  soul-melting  persuasions  that  the  Lord  had  work  for 
me  to  do  for  his  name  in  England.  The  Lord  prepare  me  for  what 
I  may  hear  from  thence." 

"June  28M.     Troubled  at  what  I  was  told  yesterday,  that  I  had 


480  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  been  severely  animadverted  on  in  the  Council,  and  that  some  said 

I  deserved  a  year's  imprisonment.     Is  this  my  reward  for  taking  so 

Extracts       much  pains  to  serve  and  save  New  England  ?" 

from  Presi-  r  _  ° 

dent  Math-        "  July  1st.  At  this  time,  in  special  I  humbly  cry  to  Heaven  (among 

other  things),  that  the  Lord  will  sanctify  what  has  lately  happened  in 
the  General  Court  respecting  my  intentions  for  England,  whereby 
that  affair  is  delayed.  What  is  the  meaning  of  Providence?  for 
when  that  matter  has  come  to  the  birth,  there  has  not  been  strength 
to  bring  forth.  The  Lord  direct  me  what  to  do,  as  to  a  resignation 
of  my  relation  to  the  College ;  and  be  with  me  on  the  Commence- 
ment approaching  ;  prepare  me  for  what  his  Providence  shall  cause 
me  to  hear  from  England." 

"September  25M.  This  day  as  I  was  wrestling  with  the  Lord,  he 
gave  me  glorious  and  heart-melting  persuasions,  that  he  has  work 
for  me  to  do  in  England,  for  the  glory  of  his  name.  My  soul  re- 
joiceth  in  the  Lord." 


See  p.  93. 

"  1698.  November  26f/t.  There  is  a  motion  about  a  Vice-President 
at  the  College,  there  to  reside.  That  matter  is  before  the  General 
Court,  now  sitting.  There  is  a  discourse  of  an  agent  to  be  sent 
to  England.  Let  me  turn  all  into  prayer.  Will  the  Lord  cause 
me  to  hear  out  of  England  what  will  revive  me  ?  Shall  I  see  that 
faith  shall  not  suffer  an  utter  disappointment  ?  " 

"  December  1st.  Corporation  had  conference  with  the  Council 
about  the  College." 

"  December  1st.  Marvellous  meltings  of  the  soul  I  did  this  morn- 
ing experience  with  respect  to  tidings  from  England." 


See  p.  95. 

"  1698.  December  8th.*  This  evening  some  from  the  General 
Court  came  to  me,  viz.,  Mr.  Sewall,  Mr.  Addington,  Col.  Byfield, 
&c.,  desiring  me  to  accept  of  the  Presidentship,  and  remove  to 
Cambridge;  and  pressing  me  to  receive  the  new  salary.  I  told 
them  that  I  was  discouraged,  in  that  the  Representatives  had  nega- 

*  For  Judge  Se  wall's  account  of  this  interview,  see  p.  490. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  481 

tived  the  vote  of  the  Council,  and  sent  another  vote,  in  which  my  APPENDIX, 
name  was  left  out.    Col.  Byfield  (the  Speaker)  said,  it  was  not  out 


of  disrespect  to  me,    for   every  one  in  the  House  desired  that  I   Extracts 

r  J  .  .  from  Presi- 

should  be  the  President,  &c.     I  objected,  that  I  was  not  willing  to   dent  Math- 
leave  my  preaching  work.     Mr.  Sewall's  reply  was,  I  might  preach 
to  the  scholars  by  expositions  every  day.     I  told  them,  I  could  not 
go  till  the  church  spared  me." 

"  December  IQth.  The  General  Court  having  desired  me  to 
go  and  reside  at  the  College,  I  am  in  great  distress  concerning 
it ;  being,  in  my  spirit,  exceedingly  against  complying  with  the 
motion,  yet  desirous  to  do  what  God  would  have  me  to  do.  I 
have  set  apart  this  day  to  cry  to  Heaven  for  direction  in  this 
matter,  and  that  God  will  incline  my  heart  to  do  what  shall  be 
pleasing  in  his  sight.  But  oh  that  God  would  accept  of  service  for 
me  in  England  according  to  my  faith  ! " 


See  pp.  96,  97. 

"  1699.  January  21s£.  I  am  still  distressed  about  the  College 
and  my  removal  to  Cambridge.  How  does  that  consist  with  the 
faith  I  have  had  concerning  my  doing  service  for  the  name  of  Christ 
in  England?"  * 

"  February  4th.  Being  still  distressed  in  my  spirit  about  the 
motion  of  the  General  Court  concerning  my  removal  to  Cambridge, 
which  is  a  thing  contrary  to  the  faith  marvellously  wrought  into  my 
soul,  that  God  will  give  me  an  opportunity  to  serve  and  glorify 
Christ  in  England,  I  set  the  day  apart  to  cry  to  Heaven  about  it. 
And,  considering  that  the  Council  is  to  meet  next  week,  to  consider 
the  affair  of  the  College,  the  Lord  be  with  me,  and  direct  me  what 
to  do  and  say  to  them." 

"  February  5th.  At  a  church  meeting  of  the  brethren,  I  men- 
tioned to  them  the  proposal  of  the  General  Court  about  my  re- 
moval to  Cambridge.  The  vote  I  read  to  them  was  in  the  words 
following ;  '  Whether  do  you  consent,  that  the  Pastor  of  this  church 
be  dismissed  from  his  relation  unto,  and  his  work  in,  this  congre- 
gation, that  he  may  wholly  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
College,  and  that  in  order  thereunto  he  remove  his  habitation  from 
Boston  to  Cambridge  ?  '  When  the  vote  was  put  in  the  affirmative, 
not  one  man  would  lift  up  his  hand ;  when  in  the  negative,  every 
one  of  the  brethren  lifted  up  his  hand." 

VOL.    I.  61 


482 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,       "February  17tk.     In  New  England  the  College  is  in  an  uncom- 

NO.  ix.      fortable  state.     I  am  still  distressed  about  my  removal  thither.     The 

Extracts        Council  and  Corporation  are  to  meet  next  week  about  the  affair. 

from  Presi- 
dent Math-   The  Lord  prepare  me  for  what  I  may  hear  from  England,  and  let 

me  once  more  see  that  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  not  suffer  another 
d  isappointment." 

"  February  23<7.  The  Corporation  met  with  the  Council  about  the 
College.  I  told  them,  that,  if  the  church  and  my  wife  would  con- 
sent to  my  removing  to  Cambridge,  I  would  go.  Only  I  put  in  this 
caution ;  '  except  some  tidings  from  England  did  prevent.'  They 
generally  seemed  satisfied.  Only  Mr.  Torrey  said,  '  All  I  said  was 
nothing.'  He  then  said  to  me,  that  '  my  pretending  to  resign  was 
but  a  flourish.' " 

"  February  24?A.  Discoursed  with  Mr.  Torrey,  who  desired  me 
not  to  resign  the  Presidentship,  and  expressed  entire  respect  to  me." 

"  February  26M.  Why  should  I  be  so  distressed  in  my  spirit 
about  my  removing  to  Cambridge  ?  Has  not  God  told  me  this  very 
day,  that  he  has  work  for  me  to  do?  " 


No.  X.*  — See  pp.  102,  108,  134,  135. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  COTTON  MATHER'S  DIARY. 


Kx  tracts 
from  Cot- 
ton Math- 
er's Diary. 


"  1699.  7th  d.  4th  m.  (June.)  The  General  Court  has,  divers  times 
of  late  years,  had  under  consideration  the  matter  of  the  settlement  of 
the  College,  which  was  like  still  to  issue  in  a  voyage  of  my  father 
to  England,  and  the  matter  is  now  again  considered.  1  have  made 
much  prayer  about  it  many  and  many  a  time.  Nevertheless,  I  never 
could  have  my  mind  raised  unto  any  particular  faith  about  it,  one 
way  or  another.  But  this  day,  as  I  was  (may  I  not  say)  in  the 
Spirit,  it  was  in  a  powerful  manner  assured  me  from  Heaven,  that 
my  father  should  one  day  be  carried  into  England,  and  that  he  shall 
there  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  the  particular  faith 
which  has  introduced  it,  shall  be  at  last  made  a  matter  of  wonderful 


*  Containing  all  the  extracts  from  the  Diary  of  Cotton  Mather,  referred  to 
in  this  work,  except  such  as  are  quoted  at  large  in  the  text. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  483 

glory  and  service  unto  the  Lord.  And  thou,  oh  Mather  the  younger,   APPENDIX, 
shalt  live  to  see  this  accomplished  !  " 


"  16th  d.  5tk  m.  (July}.     Being  full  of  distress  in  my  spirit,  as 
I  was  at  prayer  in  my  study  at  noon,  it  was  told  me  from  Heaven,  ton  Math- 
that  my  father  shall  be  carried  from  me  unto  England,  and  that  my 
opportunities  to  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will,  on  that  occasion, 
be  gloriously  accommodated." 

"  18th  d.  5th  m.  Both  Houses,  in  our  General  Assembly,  have 
so  passed  their  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  the  College,  that 
there  appears  a  necessity  of  sending  an  agent  to  White  Hall,  to 
solicit  the  royal  approbation  lor  it.  The  agency  will  doubtless  fall 
upon  my  father,  and  this  prove  the  time  for  its  being  one  way  or  the 
other  determined.  I  therefore  set  apart  this  day  for  prayer,  with 
fasting,  in  my  study  before  the  Lord,  especially  on  this  occasion. 
And  when  it  was  about  noon,  crying  to  Heaven,  that  the  matter 
of  my  father's  voyage  to  England  might  be  well  ordered,  it  was  (in 
a  manner  that  I  may  not  utter)  assured  unto  me,  from  Heaven,  that 
my  father  shall  be  carried  into  England,  and  that  I  should  live  to 
see  the  glory  of  the  Lord  in  this  matter,  and  that,  at  this  very  time, 
there  was  occurring  that  which  should  one  day  accomplish  it. 

"  And  now  behold  a  most  unintelligible  dispensation  !  At  this  very 
time,  even  about  noon,'  instead  of  having  the  bill  for  the  College 
enacted,  as  was  expected,  the  Governor  plainly  rejected  it,  be- 
cause of  a  provision  therein,  made  for  the  religion  of  the  country. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  he  told  them  he  believed  the  King  would 
grant  them  that  very  provision,  and  security  for  our  religion,  and 
urged  them  to  address  the  King  for  it,  and  send  an  agent  with  an 
address,  and  choose  my  father  for  their  agent  ;  and  added,  that  he 
would  heartily  join  with  them  in  their  doing  so.  The  Assembly 
was  now  all  in  confusion,  and  had  sat  many  weeks,  and  were  grown 
impatient  to  be  at  home,  and  many  of  their  members  had  already 
gone  home,  so  that  no  importunity  of  the  Governor  could  prevail 
with  them  to  be  willing  to  do  any  thing  in  this  matter,  until  their 
next  session  in  October. 

"  Lord,  preserve  my  faith,  and  assist  me  to  wait  with  an  holy  and 
humble  patience  for  the  issue  of  these  mysterious  things  !  " 

"  31st  d.  Wth  mo.  (Dec.)  Observing  my  father,  in  discourse  with  him 
yesterday,  to  be  under  some  discouragement  about  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  particular  faith  which  had  seemed  so  often  infused  from 
Heaven  into  our  minds,  about  his  yet  having  an  opportunity  to  glo- 
4fy  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  England,  I  did,  this  day  at  noon,  in  my 


484  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   study,  lay  that  matter  before  the  Lord  ;  and,  as  I  was  concluding 
No-  x'       my  petitions  about  it,  without  any  special  operation  from  Heaven 

Extracts        upon  my  mind,  and  just  ready  to  conclude  I  should  have  none,  my 

from  Cot-          r 

ton  Math-     mind   suddenly   felt  a  strange   and  strong  operation  from    Heaven 

iar' '  upon  it,  which  caused  me  to  break  forth  into  expressions  of  this 
importance ;  '  The  Lord  will  do  it !  The  Lord  will  do  it !  My 
father  shall  be  carried  into  England,  and  he  shall  there  have  a  short 
but  a  great  opportunity  to  glorify  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  a  most 
wonderful  way  it  shall  be  brought  about,  and  it  shall  at  last  appear, 
that  the  faith  which  there  has  been  concerning  it  was  the  wonderful 
work  of  Heaven,  and  the  Lord  shall  have  revenues  of  glory  from  it.' " 


See  p.  108. 

"  1700.  16th  d.  4th  mo.  (Lord's  day.)  I  am  going  to  relate  one  of 
the  most  astonishing  things  that  ever  befell  in  all  the  time  of  my 
pilgrimage. 

"  A  particular  faith  had  been  unaccountably  produced  in  my  father's 
heart,  and  in  my  own,  that  God  will  carry  him  unto  England,  and 
there  give  him  a  short  but  great  opportunity  to  glorify  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  before  his  entrance  into  the  he'avenly  kingdom.  There 
appears  no  probability  of  my  father's  going  thither  but  in  an  agency 
to  obtain  a  charter  for  the  College.  This  matter  having  been  for 
several  years  upon  the  very  point  of  being  carried  in  the  General  As- 
sembly, hath  strangely  miscarried  when  it  hath  come  to  the  birth. 
It  is  now  again  before  the  Assembly,  in  circumstances  wherein  if  it 
succeed  not,  it  is  never  like  to  be  revived  and  resumed  any  more. 
Sundry  times,  many  times,  when  I  have  been  spreading  the  case 
before  the  Lord,  with  a  faith  triumphantly  exercised  on  his  power 
and  wisdom  and  goodness,  I  have  had  my  assurances,  that  my 
father  shall  yet  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  England,  renewed 
unto  my  amazement. 

"  But  the  matter  in  the  Assembly  being  likely  now  to  come  unto 
nothing,  I  was  in  this  day  in  extreme  distress  of  spirit  concerning 
it.  My  fash  indeed  would  be  on  all  accounts  imaginable  against 
my  father's  removal  from  me.  It  will  doubtless  plunge  me  into  ten 
thousand  inconveniences.  But  my  faith,  on  the  other  hand,  having 
been  so  supernaturally  raised  for  it,  the  thoughts  of  that 's  being 
wholly  disappointed  were  insupportable.  After  I  had  finished  all 
the  other  duties  of  this  day,  I  did  in  my  distress  cast  myself  pros- 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  485 

trate  on  my  study  floor  before  the  Lord.     Here  I  acknowledged  my   APPENDIX, 
own  manifold  and  horrible  sinfulness,  and  my  worthiness,  by  reason 


of  that  sinfulness,  to  be  put  off  with  delusions,  and  have  a  serpent    Extracts 

from  Cot- 
given  to  me  when  I  asked  and  looked  for  the  Holy  Spirit.     Never-   ton  Math- 

theless,  I,  that  am  dust  and  ashes,  and  worthy  to  be  made  so  by  fire 
from  Heaven,  craved  leave  to  plead  with  Heaven  concerning  the 
matter  of  the  particular  faith  which  had  been  wrought  in  my  mind, 
as  I  thought  by  the  Lord's  own  holy  operation.  I  pleaded,  that 
my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  furnished  me  with  his  own  glorious  righ- 
teousness, and  was  now  making  intercession  for  me  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  and  because  of  his  interest  there  I  might  approach  to  the 
most  high  God,  with  humble  boldness,  as  to  a  prayer-hearing  Lord. 
I  spread  before  him  the  consequences  of  things,  and  the  present 
posture  and  aspect  of  them,  and,  having  told  the  Lord,  that  I  had 
always  taken  a  particular  faith  to  be  a  work  of  Heaven  on  the 
rninds  of  the  faithful,  but  if  it  should  prove  a  deceit  in  that  remark- 
able instance  which  was  now  the  cause  of  my  agony,  I  should  be 
cast  into  a  most  wonderful  confusion;  I  then  begged  of  the  Lord, 
that,  if  my  particular  faith  about  my  father's  voyage  to  England  were 
not  a  delusion,  he  would  be  pleased  to  renew  it  upon  me.  All  this 
while  my  heart  had  the  coldness  of  a  stone  upon  it,  and  the  strait- 
ness  that  is  to  be  expected  from  the  lone  exercise  of  reason.  But 
now  all  on  the  sudden  I  felt  an  inexpressible  force  to  fall  on  my 
mind,  an  afflatus,  which  cannot  be  described  in  words  ;  none  knows 
it  but  he  that  has  it.  If  an  angel  from  Heaven  had  spoken  it  par- 
ticularly to  me,  the  communication  would  not  have  been  more 
powerful  and  perceptible.  It  was  told  me,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  loved  my  father,  and  loved  me,  and  that  he  took  delight  in 
us,  as  in  two  of  his  faithful  servants,  and  that  he  had  not  permitted 
us  to  be  deceived  in  our  particular  faith,  but  that  my  father  should 
be  carried  into  England,  and  there  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
before  his  passing  into  glory;  that  there  shall  be  illustrious  revenues 
of  praise  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  from  our  particular  faith  about  this 
concern,  and  that  I  shall  also  live  to  see  it,  and  that  a  sentence  of 
death  shall  be  written  on  the  effect  and  success  of  our  particular 
faith,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  raises  the  dead,  is  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life,  shall  give  a  new  life  unto  it.  He  will  do  it  I 
He  will  do  it ! 

"  Having  left  a  flood  of  tears  from  me,  by  these  rages  from  the   • 
invisible  world,  on  my  study  floor,  I  rose  and  went  into  my  chair. 
There  I  took  up  my  Bible,  and  the  first  place  that  I  opened  was  at 


486 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  Acts  xxvii.  23-25,  '  There  stood  by  me  an  angel  of  God,  whose 
No-  x'  I  am,  and  whom  I  serve,  saying,  Fear  not,  thou  must  be  brought 
before  Cresar.'  I  believe  God,  that  it  shall  be  even  as  it  was  told 
me.  A  new  flood  of  tears  gushed  from  my  flowing  eyes,  and  I 
broke  out  into  these  expressions.  '  What !  shall  my  father  yet 
appear  before  Caesar!  Has  an  angel  from  Heaven  told  me  so! 
And  must  I  believe  what  has  been  told  me!  Well  then,  it  shall 
be  so !  it  shall  be  so  ! '  " 


Extracts 
from  Cot- 
ton Math- 
er's Diary. 


"  And  now  what  shall  I  say  !  When  the  affair  of  my  father's 
agency  after  this  came  to  a  turning  point  in  the  Court,  it  strangely 
miscarried !  All  came  to  nothing !  Some  of  the  Tories  had  so 
wrought  upon  the  Governor,  that,  though  he  had  first  moved  this 
matter,  and  had  given  us  both  directions  and  promises  about  it,  yet 
he  now  (not  without  base  unhandsomeness)  deferred  it.  The 
Lieutenant-Governor,  who  had  formerly  been  for  it,  now  (not  with- 
out great  ebullition  of  unaccountable  prejudice  and  ingratitude) 
appeared,  with  all  the  little  tricks  imaginable,  to  confound  it.  It 
had  for  all  this  been  carried,  had  not  some  of  the  Council  been 
inconveniently  called  off  and  absent.  But  now  the  whole  affair  of 
the  College  was  left  unto  the  management  of  the  Earl  of  Bellamont, 
so  that  all  expectation  of  a  voyage  for  my  father  unto  England,  on 
any  such  occasion,  is  utterly  at  an  end. 

"  What  shall  I  make  of  this  wonderful  matter  ?     Wait !     Wait !  " 


See  p.  134. 

"1699.  7th,  10th  m.  (Dec.)  I  see  another  day  of  temptation 
begun  upon  the  town  and  land.  A  company  of  headstrong  men  in 
the  town,  the  chief  of  whom  are  full  of  malignity  to  the  holy  ways 
of  our  churches,  have  built  in  the  town  another  meetinghouse.  To 
delude  many  better  meaning  men  in  their  own  company,  and  the 
churches  in  the  neighbourhood,  they  passed  a  vote  in  the  founda- 
tion of  the  proceedings,  that  they  would  not  vary  from  the  practice 
of  these  churches,  except  in  one  little  particular.  But  a  young 
man  born  and  bred  here,  and  hence  gone  for  England,  is  now 
returned  hither  at  their  invitation,  equipped  with  an  ordination  to 
qualify  him  for  all  that  is  intended  on  his  returning  and  arriving 
here ;  these  fallacious  people  desert  their  vote,  and,  without  the 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  487 

advice  or  knowledge  of  the  ministers  in   the   vicinity,  they  have   APPENDIX, 
published,  under  the  title  of  a  manifesto,  certain  articles  that  utterly         °'  X' 

subvert  our  churches,  and  invite  an  ill  party,  through  all  the  coun-   Extracts 

' '  _      from  Cot- 

try,  to  throw  all  into  confusion  on  the  first  opportunities.  This  ton  Math- 
drives  the  ministers  that  would  be  faithful  unto  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  interests  in  the  churches,  unto  a  necessity  of  ap- 
pearing for  their  defence.  No  little  part  of  these  actions  must 
unavoidably  fall  to  my  share.  I  have  already  written  a  large  moni- 
tory letter  to  these  jnnovators,  which,  though  most  lovingly  penned, 
yet  enrages  their  violent  and  imperious  lusts  to  carry  on  the  apostasy." 


See  p.  135. 

"1699.  5th  d.  l]th  m.  (Saturday.)  I  see  Satan  beginning  a 
terrible  shake  in  the  churches  of  New  England,  and  the  innovators 
that  had  set  up  a  new  church  in  Boston  (a  new  one  indeed !)  have 
made  a  day  of  temptation  among  us.  The  men  are  ignorant,  arro- 
gant, obstinate,  and  full  of  malice  and  slander,  and  they  fill  the  land 
with  lies,  in  the  misrepresentations  whereof  I  am  a  very  singular 
sufferer.  Wherefore  I  set  apart  this  day  again  for  prayer  in  my 
study,  to  cry  mightily  unto  God." 

"21s£  d.  llth  m.  The  people  of  the  new  church  in  Boston, 
who,  by  their  late  manifesto,  went  on  in  an  ill  way,  and  in  a 
worse  frame,  and  the  town  was  filled  with  sin,  and  especially  with 
slanders,  wherein  especially  my  father  and  myself  were  sufferers. 
We  two,  with  many  prayers  and  studies,  and  with  humble  resigna- 
tion of  our  names  unto  the  Lord,  prepared  a  faithful  antidote  for 
our  churches  against  the  infection  of  the  example,  which  we  feared 
this  company  had  given  them,  and  we  put  it  into  the  press.  But, 
when  the  first  sheet  was  near  composed  at  the  press,  I  stopped  it, 
with  a  desire  to  make  one  attempt  more  for  the  bringing  of  this 
people  to  reason.  I  drew  up  a  proposal,  and,  with  another  min- 
ister, carried  it  unto  them,  who  at  first  rejected  it,  but  afterwards 
so  far  embraced  it,  as  to  promise  that  they  will  the  next  week  pub- 
licly recognise  their  covenant  with  God  and  one  another,  and  there- 
withal declare  their  adherence  to  the  Heads  of  Agreement  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  England,  and  request  the  communion  of  our 
churches  in  that  foundation. 

"  A  wonderful  joy  filled  the  hearts  of  our  good  people  far  and  near, 
that  we  had  obtained  thus  much  from  them.  Our  strife  seemed 


488 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  now  at  an  end ;  there  was  much  relenting  in  some  of  their  spirits, 
when  they  saw  our  condescension,  our  charity,  our  compassion. 
We  overlooked  all  past  offences.  We  kept  the  public  fast  with  them 
(on  31st,  1 1th  month,  Wednesday),  and  my  father  preached  with  them 
on  following  peace  with  holiness,  and  I  concluded  with  prayer." 


Extracts 
from  Cot- 
ton Math- 
er's Diary. 


No.  XL  —  See  pp.  82,  86,  87,  89,  95,  126,  136,  138,  150, 
156,  193,  201,  203,  207,  223,  256. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  JUDGE  SEWALL'S  DIARY. 
See  p.  82. 

Extracts  President  Mather's  Diary  is  coincident  with  the  College  records. 

Se  wall's  ge   Judge  Scwall's  states  the  proceedings  thus. 
Diary. 


October  IZth.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  goes  to  Cam- 
bridge, —  complimented  the  President,  &,c.  for  all  their  respect  to 
him,  acknowledged  his  obligations,  and  promised  his  interposition 
for  the  College,  as  became  such  an  alumnus  for  such  an  alma 
mater.  Directed  the  President  and  Fellows  to  go  on  ;  and  enjoined 
the  students  to  obedience." 


See  p.  86. 

"  1696.     December  18th.     Mr.  Mather,  Mr.  Allen,  Mr.  Willard, 
and  Cotton  Mather,  give  in  a  paper,*  subscribed  by  them,  showing 


*  This-paper  was  in  these  words. 

"  Objections  made  by  Increase  Mather  and  others  to  the  above  act. 

"  The  act  for  incorporating  the  College  allows  no  President,  except  resident 
(and  so  the  College  rendered  incapable  of  action),  before  the  act  be  confirmed. 

"  We  observe,  that  four  thousand  pounds  revenue  be  reduced  to  two,  and 
know  not  what  advantage  of  it  Some  Colleges  in  Oxford  have  thirty  thou- 
sand. 

"  No  Corporation  meeting  is  therein  to  be  had,  on  any  occasion,  though 
never  so  small,  without  advice  given  to  sixteen,  whereof  some  are  far  distant; 
and  without  the  presence  of  ten,  and  the  consent  of  nine. 

u  There  can  be  no  execution  of  any  statute,  or  order,  without  the  incum- 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 
•« 

their  dislike  of  our  draft  of  the  College  charter ;  and  desiring,  that  APPENDIX, 
their  names  may  not  be  entered  thereon.     One  chief  reason  was 

the  appointing  the  Governor  and  Council  for  visitors.  Extracts 

<->  -11         from  Judge 

"  I  do  not  know  that  1  ever  saw  the  Council  run  upon  with  such  a   Sewall's 

height  of  rage  before.  The  Lord  prepare  us  for  the  issue.  The 
ministers  will  go  to  England  for  a  charter,  except  we  exclude  the 
Council  from  the  visitation.  Allege  this  reason,  because  the  King 
will  not  pass  it,  and  so  we  shall  be  longer  unsettled." 


See  p.  87. 

"  1697.  March  26M.  This  day  Mr.  Leverett  was  by  the  Council 
denied  to  be  of  the  Corporation  for  the  College.  How  the  deputies 
will  resent  it,  I  know  not." 


See  p.  89. 

"  1696.  November  25th.  Mr.  William  Brattle  was  ordained  at 
Cambridge.  He  and  Mr.  Mather  (the  President)  preached.  It 
was,  at  first,  ordered  that  Mr.  Brattle  should  not  preach.  But  many 
being  troubled  at  it,  't  was  afterward  altered.  Mr.  Bratlle  also  pro- 
cured the  church  to  order  elder  Clarke  should  not  lay  his  hand  on 
his  head  when  he  was  ordained,  and  he  refrained  accordingly.  So 
that  Deacon  Gile,  coming  home,  said,  he  liked  all  very  well  except 
the  bill  of  exclusion." 


brance  aforesaid ;  those,  that  know  what  it  is  to  govern  the  College,  are  of 
opinion,  that  these  things  will  render  it  impossible. 

"  We  see  a  diminution  of  respect  to  the  President  in  the  former  charter,  as 
to  immunity  of  servants. 

"  The  visitation  is  such  as  makes  it  extremely  probable,  that  the  act  will  not 
only  miss  of  the  Royal  approbation,  but  also  give  offence  by  its  variation  from 
the  directions  of  the  Lords  of  the  Council ;  which  we  intimate  not  from  our 
dislike  of  the  thing,  but  from  our  concern  to  have  no  part  in  any  thing  that 
may  renew  or  prolong  the  unsettlement  of  the  College. 

"  For  such  causes,  we  humbly  pray  to  be  excused  from  having  our  names 
inserted  in  the  act. 

"  Signed,    INCREASE  MATHER. 
"  JAMES  ALLEN. 
"  SAMUEL  WILLARD. 
"  COTTON  MATHER." 

VOL.  i.  62 


490  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

*. 
APPENDIX, 

NO.  xi.  See  p.  95. 

Extracts 

from  Judge       Judge  Sewall,  in  his  Diary,  thus  states  the  circumstances  of  the 

Diary.  interview  between  the  committee  of  the  General  Court  and  the  Presi- 

dent, on  the  subject  of  his  removal  to  Cambridge,  according  to  their 
vote  passed  the  3d  of  December,  1698. 

"  1698.  December  8th.  The  Speaker,  Mr.  Eyre,  and  Mr.  Oliver, 
deputy  for  Cambridge,  were  of  a  committee  with  Mr.  Secretary  and 
me,  to  acquaint  Mr.  Mather  with  the  Court's  desire  of  his  removal 
to  Cambridge,  and  to  carry  him  an  order  for  .£200  per  annum,  so 
long  as  he  should  reside  there.  Mr.  President  expostulated  with 
Mr.  Speaker  and  Mr.  Eyre  about  the  votes  being  altered  from  <£250, 
as  the  Council  had  set  it;  and  also  his  name  being  left  out  and 
making  him  a  five  years'  President. 

"  Note.  By  a  conference  the  bill  was  made  as  ours,  at  first,  saving 
fifty  pounds  less. 

"  We  urged  his  going  all  we  could.  I  told  him  of  his  birth  and 
education  there ;  that  he  looked  at  work  rather  than  wages ;  that 
all  met  in  desiring  him,  and  should  hardly  agree  so  well  in  any 
other.  Mr.  Speaker,  on  behalf  of  the  House,  earnestly  desired  him. 
He  objected,  — want  of  a  house,  —  bill  for  Corporation  not  passed, 
his  church,  —  that  he  must  needs  preach  once  every  week  ;  which 
he  preferred  before  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  East  Indies.  I  told 
him  he  would  preach  twice  a  day  to  the  students ;  he  said  that 
exposition  was  nothing  like  preaching."  * 


See  p.  126. 

"  1701.  October  20M.  Mr.  Cotton  Mather  came  to  Mr.  Wilkins' 
shop,  and  there  talked  very  sharply  against  me,  as  if  I  had  used 
his  father  worse  than  a  negro.  He  spake  so  loud,  that  the  people 
in  the  street  might  hear  him. 

"  Mem.  On  the  9th  of  October  I  sent  Mr.  Increase  Mather  a 
haunch  of  very  good  venison.  I  hope  in  that  I  did  not  treat  him 
worse  than  a  negro. 

"  October  22d.  I,  with  Major  Walley  and  Captain  Samuel  Check- 
ley,  speak  with  Mr.  Cotton  Mather  at  Mr.  Wilkins'.  I  expostulate 
with  him  from  1  Tim.  v.  1,  '  Rebuke  not  an  elder.'  He  said  he 

"  For  President  Mather's  account  of  the  same  interview,  see  p.  480. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  •         491 

had  considered  that.     I  told  him  of  his  book,  of  the  law  of  kind-  APPENDIX, 
ness  for  the  tongue.     Whether  this  was  correspondent  with  that, 


or  with  Christ's  rule.     He  said,  that  having  spoken  to  me  before,   Extracts 

from  Judge 

there  was  no  reason  for  his  speaking  to  me  again.  And  so  justified  Se wall's 
his  reviling  me  behind  my  back.  Charged  the  Council  with  lying, 
nypocrisy,  tricks,  and  I  know  not  what.  I  asked  him,  if  this  were 
with  the  meekness  as  it  should  be.  He  answered,  Yes.  Charged 
the  Council  in  general,  and  then  showed  my  share,  which  was  my 
speech  in  Council,  viz.  '  If  Mr.  Mather  should  go  to  Cambridge 
again,  to  reside,  with  a  resolution  not  to  read  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
expound  in  the  Hall,  I  fear  the  example  will  do  more  hurt  than  his 
going  thither  will  do  good.'  This  speech  I  owned.  I  asked,  if  I 
should  suppose  he  had  done  something  amiss  in  his  church,  as  an 
officer,  whether  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  exclaim  against  him  in 
the  street  for  it?  (Mr.  Wilkins  would  fain  have  had  him  gone  into  the 
inner  room,  but  he  would  not.)  I  told  him,  I  conceived  he  had 
done  much  unbecoming  a  minister  of  the  Gospel ;  and,  being  called, 
I  went  to  the  Council.  2  Tim.  ii.  24,  25." 

"  October  23rf.  Mr.  Increase  Mather  said  to  Mr.  Wilkins,  '  If  I 
am  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  some  great  judgment  will  fall  on 
Captain  Sewall  and  his  family.'  " 

"  October  25th.  This  day  got  my  speech  copied  out,  and  gave  it 
to  Mr.  Wilkins,  that  all  might  see  what  was  the  ground  of  Mr. 
Mather's  anger.  Wilkins  carried  it  to  the  Mathers.  Writ  out 
another,  and  gave  it  to  Joshua  Gee.  I  perceive  Mr.  Wilkins  carried 
his  to  Mr.  Mather.  They  seem  to  grow  calm." 


See  p.  136. 

"1699-1700.  January  24fA.  Lieutenant-Governor  calls  me, 
with  him,  to  Mr.  Willard's,  where,  out  of  two  papers,  Mr.  William 
Brattle  drew  up  a  third,  for  an  accommodation,  to  bring  on  an 
agreement  between  the  new  church  and  our  ministers.  Mr.  Colman 
got  his  brethren  to  subscribe  to  it." 

"  January  25th.  Mr.  I.  Mather,  Mr.  C.  Mather,  Mr.  Willard,  Mr. 
Wadsworth,  and  S.  Sewall,  wait  on  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  at 
Mr.  Cooper's,  to  confer  about  the  writing  drawn  up  the  evening 
before.  There  was  some  heat,  but  grew  calmer,  and,  after  lecture, 
agreed  to  be  present  at  the  fast,  which  was  to  be  observed  Jan.  31st." 


492  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  See  p.  138. 

No.  X\. 

Extncts  "  1700.     January  '3lst.     Fast  at  the  new  church. 

from  Judge        "  A.  M.     Mr.   Colman  reads  the  writing   agreed  on.     Mr.   Allen 

Sewall's 

Diary.  prays.     Mr.  Colman  preaches,  prays,  and  blesses. 

"  P.  M.  Mr.  Willard  prays.  Mr.  I.  Mather  preaches.  Mr.  Cot- 
ton Mather  prays.  Mr.  Brattle  sets  Oxford  tune.  Mr.  Mather 
blesses. 

"  His  text  was,  '  Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness.'  His 
doctrine,  —  must  follow  peace,  so  far  as  it  consists  with  holiness, 
Heb.  xii.  14.  Mr.  Colman's  text  was,  Rom.  xv.  29,  '  And  I  am 
sure,  that,  when  I  come  unto  you,  I  shall  come  in  the  fulness  of  the 
blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.' 

"  Principal  ministers,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Council,  present. 

"  Mr.  Willard  prayed  God  to  pardon  all  the  frailties  and  follies  of 
ministers  and  people ;  and  that  they  might  give  that  respect  to  the 
other  church  due  to  them,  though  not  just  of  their  constitution. 

"  Mr.  Mather  in  sermon,  and  Mr.  Cotton  in  prayer,  to  the  same 
purpose,  and  pathetically  for  Mr.  Colman  and  his  flock." 


See  p.  150. 

"  1697.  November  20th.  Mr.  Willard  told  me  of  a  falling  out 
between  the  President  and  him,  about  choosing  fellows,  last  Mon- 
day. Mr.  Mather  has  sent  him  word,  he  will  never  come  to  his 
house  more  till  he  give  him  satisfaction." 


See  p.  156. 

"  1707.  October  28th.  The  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  met  and 
chose  Mr.  Leverett  President.  He  had  eight  votes.  Dr.  Increase 
Mather  three.  Cotton  Mather  one.  Mr.  Brattle  one.  Mr.  White 
did  not  vote.  And  Mr.  Gibbs  came  when  voting  was  over." 


See  p.  201. 

Two  contemporaneous  accounts  remain  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
meeting  of  the  Corporation,  on  this  occasion.  One  in  the  records 
of  the  Corporation,  the  other  in  the  Diary  of  Judge  Sewall.  This 
last  is  the  most  graphic  and  illustrative  of  the  period. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  493 

"  1707-8.     January  Hth.     Went  to  Cambridge  in  Mr.  Briggs's  APPENDIX, 
coach,  with  Colonel  Townsend,   Mr.  Bromfield,  and  Mr.  Stoddard. 


Mr.  Eliakim  Hutchinson  went  in  his  own  chariot,  taking  Mr.  Wads-  Fxtra*}tsd 

worth  with  him.     Captain    Belcher  carried    Mr.   Secretary   in  his  Sewall's 

Diary 

calash.  Mr.  Pemberton  carried  Mr.  Brown  in  his  sleigh  over  the 
ice.  Mr.  Miles  carried  Mr.  Treasurer  Brattle.  Mr.  Colman  there. 
Major-General  Winthrop,  Colonel  Elisha  Hutchinson,  Mr.  S.  Foster, 
Mr.  Sargeant,  Dr.  Mather,  Mr.  Cotton  Mather,  Mr.  Bridges.  Mr. 
Allen  not  there.  The  day  was  very  pleasant.  Colonel  Phillips. 
Mr.  Russell,  in  his  black  cap.  Colonel  Lynde  met  us  from  Charles- 
town.  Mr.  Bradstreet,  Mr.  Angier,  there.  Mr.  Woodbridge  of 
Medford,  Mr.  Nehemiah  Hobart.  In  the  Library  the  Governor 
formed  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College,  according  to  the 
charter  of  1650,  and  reduced  the  number  [of  the  Corporation]  to 
seven,  viz.  Mr.  Leverett,  President,  Mr.  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Mr. 
William  Brattle,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  Mr.  Henry  Flint,  Mr. 
Jonathan  Remington,  Fellows,  Mr.  Thomas  Brattle,  Treasurer. 
The  Governor  prepared  a  Latin  speech  for  the  instalment  of  the 
President;  then  took  the  President  by  the  hand,  led  him  down 
into  the  Hall.  The  books  of  the  College  records,  charter,  seal, 
and  keys,  were  laid  upon  the  table  running  parallel  with  that  next 
the  entry.  The  Governor  sat  with  his  back  against  a  noble  fire. 
Mr.  Russell  on  his  left,  and  innermost,  I  on  his  right  hand.  Presi- 
dent sat  on  the  other  side  of  the  table  over  against  him.  Mr. 
Nehemiah  Hobart  was  called,  and  made  an  excellent  prayer,  then 
Joseph  Sewall  made  a  Latin  oration.  Then  the  Governor  read  his 
speech,  and  (as  he  told  me)  moved  the  books  in  token  of  delivery. 
The  President  made  a  short  Latin  speech,  importing  the  difficulties 
discouraging,  and  yet  that  he  did  accept.  Governor  spoke  further, 
assuring  him  of  the  assistance  of  the  Overseers.  Then  Mr.  Edward 
Holyoke  made  a  Latin  oration,  standing  where  Joseph  did,  at  a 
desk  on  the  table  next  the  entry,  at  the  inside  of  it,  facing  the 
Governor.  Mr.  Danforth,  of  Dorchester,  prayed.  Mr.  Paul  Dudley 
read  part  of  the  132d  Psalm,  in  Tate  and  Brady  version,  Windsor 
tune.  Closed  with  the  Hymn  to  the  Trinity.  Had  a  very  good 
dinner  upon  three  or  four  tables.  Mr.  Wadsworth  craved  a  bless- 
ing. Mr.  Angier  returned  thanks.  Got  home  very  well.  Lous  Deo" 


See  p.  203. 

"  1707  -  8.    January  23r7.     Cotton  Mather  told  me  of  his  letter  to 
the  Governor  (Dudley)  of  the  20th  inst,  and  lent  me  a  copy.     Dr. 


494  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  Mather,  it  seems,  has  also  sent  a  letter  to  the  Governor.     I  wait  with 
concern  to  see  what  the  issue  of  this  plain,  home  dealing  will  be." 


Extracts  «  January  SQth.    Mr.  Pemberton  talked  very  warmly  about  Cotton 

from  Judge 

Sewall's  Mather's  letter  to  the  Governor.  Seemed  to  resent  it,  and  to  expect 
the  Governor  would  animadvert  upon  him.  Said,  that,  if  he  were 
the  Governor,  he  would  humble  him,  though  it  cost  him  his  head  ; 
speaking  with  great  vehemency. 

"  February  5th.  Mr.  Colman  preaches  the  lecture  in  Mr.  Wads- 
worth's  turn,  from  Gal.  v.  25;  "  If  we  live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also 
walk  in  the  Spirit."  Spoke  of  envy  and  revenge  as  the  complexion 
and  condemnation  of  the  Devil.  Spoke  of  other  walking.  It  blotted 
our  sermons;  it  blotted  our  prayers:  blotted  our  admonitions  and 
exhortations.  It  might  justly  put  us  upon  asking  ourselves,  whether 
we  did  live  in  the  Spirit ;  whether  we  were  ever  truly  regenerated 
or  no. 

"  It  is  reckoned  he  lashed  Dr.  Mather,  and  Mr.  Cotton  Mather, 
and  Mr.  Bridge,  for  what  they  have  written,  preached,  and  prayed 
about  the  present  contest  with  the  Governor.  I  heard  not  of  it 
before.  But  yesterday  Colonel  Townsend  told  me  of  Dr.  Mather's 
prayer,  25th  January,  wherein  he  made  mention  one  in  twenty-eight 
being  faithful ;  which  make  many  look  on  me  with  an  evil  eye, 
supposing  Dr.  Mather  meant  my  withdrawing  my  vote  of  the  1st  of 
November." 


See  p.  207. 

"  1713.  June  18th.  As  I  came  from  Mr.  Stephens'  meeting  Mr. 
Pemberton  joined  himself  to  me,  and  told  me  of  the  Governor's 
vehement  desire,  that  Colonel  William  Dudley  might  be  made- 
Treasurer  of  the  College." 


See  pp.  193,  223. 

"  1718.  November  VHth.  Overseers'  meeting,  to  petition  the 
General  Court  to  make  the  College  one  hundred  feet  long.  One 
calling  for  the  memorial  from  the  end  of  the  table,  I  stood  up  and 
said,  what  the  Honorable  Commissioner  had  in  hand  was  of  great 
moment,  but  I  apprehended  there  was  an  affair  of  greater  moment. 
I  have  heard  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  was  not  carried  on  in  the 
Hall.  I  inquired  of  the  President  if  it  were  so  or  no.  Was  silence 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  195 

a  little  while.     Then  the  President  seemed   to  be  surprised  at  rny   AJEPENDIX, 
treating  him  in  this  manner.     I  did  not  use  to  do  so.     Neither  did         °' xr' 

he  use  to  treat  me  so.     This  complaint  was  made  twice  at  least.    Extracts 

from  Judge 
Many  spoke  earnestly,  that  what  was  said  was  out  of  season.     Mr.    Sewall's 

Attorney  stood  up  and  seconded  me  very  strenuously.  When  I  was 
fallen  so  hard  upon,  I  said,  I  apprehended  the  not  expounding  the 
Scriptures  was  a  faulty  omission,  and  I  was  glad  of  that  opportunity 
of  showing  my  dislike  of  it.  President  said  he  had  begun  to  take 
it  up  again.  I  said  I  was  glad  of  it.  At  another  time  said,  that,  if 
he  ivas  to  expound  in  the  Hall,  he  must  be  supported.  It  went  over. 
The  memorial  was  voted.  Then  Mr.  Belcher  stood  up,  and  moved 
earnestly,  that  exposition  might  be  attended.  At  last  Mr.  Wads- 
worth  stood  up  and  spoke  in  favor  of  it,  and  drew  up  a  vote,  that  the 
President  should,  as  frequently  as  he  could,  entertain  the  students 
with  expositions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  read  it.  I  moved,  that 
'  as  he  could '  should  be  left  out,  and  it  was  so  voted.  Mr.  Presi- 
dent seemed  to  say,  softly,  it  was  not  till  now  the  business  of  the 
President  to  expound  in  the  Hall.  I  said,  I  was  glad  the  Overseers 
had  now  the  honor  of  declaring  it  to  be  the  President's  duty." 

"  November  13th.  Mr.  President  spake  to  me  again  pretty  earn- 
estly, and  intimated,  it  was  not  the  President's  duty  before  this 
order.  I  said,  that  it  was  a  shame  that  a  law  should  be  required, 
meaning,  Ex  mails  moribus  bonce  leges." 


See  p.  256. 

"1721-2.  January  %4th.  Overseers'  meeting.  Mr.  Edward 
Wigglesvvorth  is  presented  by  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  elected  by  them  the  Professor  of  Divinity,  who  was  ap- 
proved by  the  Overseers,  by  papers,  written,  Yes  and  No.  It  was 
voted,  it  should  be  done  in  that  manner.  Eleven  yeas,  three  noes. 
Directed  he  should  be  called  the  Hollis  Professor" 


No.  XII.— See  p.  90. 

APPLICATION  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  THE  GENERAL 

COURT. 

Application 

of  the  Cor- 

"  1697.     Boston,  June  7th.     Upon   advice,  that  an  act  of  incor-  poration  to 

porating  Harvard  College  is  lately  passed  in  the  General  Assembly ;   Court. 


496 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,   we,  who  are  informed  that  we  are  named  therein,  as  intrusted  with 
No-xn-      the  care  of  that  society,  being  very  sensible  that  it  is  of  great  con- 
Application  cernment  to  these  churches,  both  in  present  and  after  times,  that 
poration  to    the  College  should  no  longer  labor  under  the  unhappy  uncertainties 
Court?1"  '    °f  establishment,  have  therefore  judged  it  necessary  to  desire  that 
the  Rev    Mr.  Increase  Mather,  a  person,  who  may  most  probably 
be  instrumental  in  procuring  so  great  a  favor  for  that  society,  and 
therein  for  the  whole  country,  undertake  a  voyage  for  England,  in 
order  for  the  obtaining  the  Royal  approbation  unto  the  said  act  of 
Assembly,  or  in   case  that  cannot  be,  then  to  endeavour  the  ob- 
taining such  a  charter  from  his  Majesty  as  will  be  consistent  with 
the  constitution  of  the  people  and  churches  in  this  country. 

"  And  we  request  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  Mr.  Torrey,  Mr.  Willard, 
and  Mr.  Thacher,  to  acquaint  the  Honorable  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  the  General  Court  with  this  our  desire,  praying  that  their  great 
request  for  so  universal  a  benefit,  as  that  of  the  College,  may  still  be 
manifested  by  their  concurrence,  countenance,  and  assistance,  to 
this  necessary  endeavour  for  the  preservation  of  that  society. 
"  Signed,  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  rest, 

"  CHARLES  MORTON." 

"  June  9t7i.  Read  three  several  times  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives." 

"June  15th.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  put  to  vote, 
Whether  any  assistance  shall  be  allowed  out  of  the  public  treasury, 
towards  sending  Mr.  Increase  Mather  to  England,  for  obtaining  a 
confirmation  of  the  charter,  granted  to  the  Corporation  of  Harvard 
College  by  this  Court. 

"  Passed  in  the  negative. 

"  PENN  TOWNSEND,  Speaker." 


Petition  of 
the  Corpo- 
ration to 
the  General 
Court. 


No.  XIII.— See  p.  90. 
PETITION  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and  Re- 
presentatives of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  Gen- 
eral Court  assembled. 

"  Having  received  the  grant  of  a  charter  for  the  incorporation  of 
Harvard  College,  wherein  our  names  are  mentioned,  as  intrusted 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  49? 

with  the  government  of  that  society,  we  judge  it  our  duty  to  return  APPENDIX, 
our  hearty  thanks  unto  this  great  and  General  Assembly,  for  the 


Petition  of 

respects  therein  put  upon  us.  the  corpo- 


"  And,  whereas  we  have   humbly  prayed   the  concurrence  and  J*110^  lo 
assistance  of  this  Assembly  unto  our  most  necessary  endeavour  to  Court. 
send  over  one  of  our  members  to  solicit  for  the  desired  settlement, 
we  must  now  represent  our  further  sense  of  this  matter. 

"  We  utterly  despair  of  attaining  our  establishment  without  a 
personal  application  to  His  Majesty.  If  this  Honorable  Assembly 
discountenance  our  proceedings,  it  will  be  so  extreme  a  discourage- 
ment to  us,  that  we  doubt  we  shall  have  little  heart  to  accept  the 
trust  now  devolved  on  us.  Our  care  for  the  effectual  support  of  the 
College,  in  the  absence  of  our  President,  we  hope  none  that  know 
us  will  think  so  hardly  of  us  as  to  question.  The  time  has  been, 
when  the  College  has  accommodated  this  colony  with  a  considerable 
sum  of  money,  not  repaid  unto  this  hour,  and  we  would  persuade 
ourselves,  that  this  Province  will,  in  point  of  gratitude,  not  refuse  to 
be  helpful  unto  the  good  settlement  of  that  society,  on  which  the 
welfare  of  the  public  so  much  depends. 

"  Signed,  with  unanimous  consent, 

"CHARLES  MORTON." 
"  Cambridge,  June  Uth,  1697." 

"  1697.    June  15th.     Read  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
"  P.  M.     Read  a  second  time." 


No.  XIV.  —  See  p.  93. 
MEMORIAL  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Council,  and  Memorial 

T,  „  .    .         .     T,  of  the  Cor- 

liepresentatives,  m  General  Assembly  now  sitting  in  Boston,   poration  to 

the  address  of  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College. 
"  We  account  it  our  duty  to  acquaint  this  Honorable  Assembly, 
that  we  have  seen  a  necessity  of  proposing  to  our  Reverend  Presi- 
dent the  undertaking  of  a  voyage  unto  England  on  the  behalf  of 
our  College,  humbly  to  solicit  His  Majesty,  that  the  late  act  for 
incorporating  that  society  may  have  the  Royal  confirmation ;  or, 
if  that  cannot  be  obtained,  then  to  endeavour  for  such  further  settle- 
ment as  may  be  judged  proper  for  us,  considering  the  constitution 
of  our  churches  and  of  the  country.  And  this  for  the  ensuing 

VOL.  i.  63 


498  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  reasons.  1.  It  is  of  great  consequence,  both  to  the  present  and 
after  generations,  that  the  College  be  settled  on  a  charter  foundation, 
Memorial  without  which  it  will  indeed  be  no  real  College,  but  quickly  come 
poraiion  to  to  be  nothing  at  all.  2.  We  cannot  but  fear,  that,  if  effectual 
Court6"*  '  means  be  not  used  for  expediting  this  affair,  our  College  may  be 
lost,  and  those  things  happen  which  may  frustrate  all  our  hope  about 
it.  3.  We  have  been  informed,  that  the  College  hath  lately  been 
disappointed  of  considerable  donations  designed  for  us,  only  because 
we  were  not  by  law  incorporated,  which  is  no  inconsiderable  damage 
to  the  public.  4.  His  Excellency,  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  our  Gov- 
ernor, hath  abundantly  expressed  his  apprehension,  that  His  Majesty 
will  not  give  his  Royal  approbation  to  the  act  for  incorporating  our 
College,  as  it  is  now  worded,  but  that  he  believes  the  President's 
going  to  England  to  solicit  that  matter  will  be  of  use,  and,  that  in 
such  a  way,  better  powers  and  privileges,  for  the  advantage  of  the 
College,  may  be  obtained  by  a  charter  from  His  Majesty  than  by 
act  of  the  Assembly  ;  and  therewithal  declared  his  worthy  desires 
to  have  it  so  qualified  by  His  Majesty's  wisdom  and  goodness,  that 
the  statutes  and  privileges  of  Harvard  College  may  be  secured 
against  invasions  that  may  be  vexatious  to  it.  And  His  Excellency 
having  so  graciously  and  generously  signified  his  apprehension  in 
this  matter,  we  cannot  but  suppose  that  all  due  respect  will  be  paid 
thereunto.  5.  The  Right  Worshipful  agent  for  this  Province,  Sir 
Henry  Ashurst,  hath  also  given  it  as  his  judgment  and  advice,  that 
our  President  be  encouraged  to  undertake  a  voyage  to  England,  for 
the  service  of  the  College  in  this  matter,  and  by  the  late  vessels 
renewed  it.  6.  We  are  also  desirous  that  there  may  be  a  President 
residing  at  the  College,  and  the  way  to  have  that  accomplished,  is 
to  get  it  speedily  settled  on  a  charter  foundation.  7.  Nor  do  we 
know  any  one  amongst  us,  that  better  understands  the  state  of  the 
College,  or  that  hath  a  greater  acquaintance  and  interest  in  Eng- 
land, or  on  whose  discretion,  fidelity,  and  integrity  to  the  true  in- 
terest of  the  College  and  of  our  churches,  we  can  have  more 
dependence. 

"  We  therefore  pray  for  such  a  concurrence  and  assistance  of  this 
Honorable  Assembly,  as  may,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  contribute 
unto  the  good  success  of  his  undertaking. 

"  JAMES  ALLEN,  Socius  Senior, 

"  In  the  name,  and  with  the  unanimous  concurrence,  of  the 
Corporation  met  in  Boston,  June  9th,  1698." 
"  In  Council,  June  14th,  1698.     Read  and  voted  in  the  negative. 

"  ISAAC  ADDINGTON,  Secretary." 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  499 


APPENDIX, 

No.  XV.  —  See  p.  95.  No'  xv" 


LETTER  OF  PRESIDENT  MATHER  TO  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
STOUGHTON. 

"  To  the  Honorable  William  Stoughton,  Lieutenant-Governor  of   Letter  of 
the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Mather^ 

"  Honorable  Sir,  Lieujenant- 

Governor 

"  I  promised  the  worthy  gentlemen,  who  acquainted  me  with  the  Stoughton. 
proposal  of  the  General  Court  concerning  the  removal  of  my  habita- 
tion from  Boston  to  Cambridge,  that  I  would  return  my  answer  to 
your  Honor.  In  the  first  place,  I,  give  my  humble  thanks  as  to  the 
General  Assembly,  so  in  a  special  manner  to  the  Honorable  Council, 
and  to  your  Honor  in  a  most  peculiar  manner,  for  the  respect  in  this 
motion  manifested.  Nevertheless,  as  to  the  thing  proposed,  I  do 
not  see  my  way  clear.  As  to  the  salary,  I  make  no  objection,  al- 
though it  is  considerably  less  than  what  I  have  in  Boston,  through 
the  love  and  bounty  of  the  people  amongst  whom  God  has  fixed  my 
present  abode.  But  the  objections  which  are  of  weight  with  me 
are  these. 

"  1st.  If  I  comply  with  what  is  desired,  I  shall  be  taken  off,  in 
a  great  measure  at  least,  from  my  public  ministry.  Should  I  leave 
preaching  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  souls  (for  I  suppose  that 
so  many  use  ordinarily  to  attend  in  our  congregation),  only  to  ex- 
pound to  forty  or  fifty  children,  few  of  them  capable  of  edification 
by  such  exercises,  I  doubt  I  should  not  do  well.  I  desire,  as  long 
as  the  Lord  shall  enable  me,  to  preach  publicly  every  Lord's  day ; 
and  I  think  all  the  gold  in  the  East  and  West  Indies  would  not 
tempt  me  to  leave  preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ, 
which  several  of  the  Presidents  of  the  College  were  necessitated  to 
desist  from,  because  of  their  other  work. 

"  2d.  I  am  now  (through  the  patience  of  God)  grown  into  years, 
wanting  but  half  a  year  of  sixty,  and  of  a  weak  and  tender  consti- 
tution of  body,  not  well  able  to  endure  the  hardships  of  the  presi- 
dentship ;  a  younger  and  a  stronger  man  would  do  better. 

"  Invalids  vires  ingeniumque  mihi.  I  have  labored  much,  both 
in  New  England,  and  in  England,  to  obtain  a  happy  settlement  of 
the  College.  Should  I  at  last  go  thither  myself,  the  world  would 
say  (as  I  hear  some  do  say),  that  I  sought  myself  in  all  those  en- 
deavours. Such  reproaches  will,  by  a  resignation  of  my  relation 


500  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  to  that  society,    be  for  ever  put   to  silence.     One  reason  of  my 

Ko'  xv'      retaining  my  relation  to  the  College  thus  long  has  been,  because 

Letter  of      jt  Was  thought  that  would  facilitate  its  charter  settlement.     Could  1 

President 

Mather  to  see  that  done,  I  should  with  great  joy  give  way  to  another  President. 
Governor  "  4th.  I  am  satisfied,  that  the  church  to  which  I  stand  related 
Stoughton.  wijj  not  set  me  at  liberty.  Many  say,  that  God  has  made  me  their 
spiritual  father,  and  how  can  they  consent  that  I  should  go  from 
them?  Besides,  they  well  know,  that  I  have  had  a  strong  bent 
of  spirit,  to  spend  (and  to  end)  the  remainder  of  my  few  days  in 
England,  and  that  the  thing  that  keeps  me  here,  now  the  Gospel  has 
a  free  passage  there,  is  my  love  to  them ;  for  which  cause  they  will 
not  consent  to  my  being  discharged  of  my  office-relation,  without 
which  I  must  not  remove  to  the  College.  For  it  is  not  fit  I  should 
retain  an  office  without  discharging  the  duties  of  that  office.  1 
neither  will  nor  have  I  obstructed  the  settlement  of  the  College  in  a 
better  hand.  I  have  often  (as  your  Honor  well  knows)  desired  to 
resign  my  relation  to  that  society ;  and,  if  it  will  not  be  grievous  to 
you,  I  shall  to-morrow  (if  you  please)  deliver  a  resignation  of  the 
presidentship  to  the  Senior  Fellow  of  the  Corporation,  for  him  to 
call  a  Corporation  meeting,  in  order  to  the  choosing  another  Presi- 
dent. And  let  the  Corporation  do  as  they  would  do  if  I  were  out 
of  the  world. 

"  Thus  have  I  taken  the  freedom  to  acquaint  you  with  my  present 
inclinations,  and  with  the  reasons  thereof,  which  I  cannot  answer. 
Could  I  see  them  well  answered  to  my  own  satisfaction  (but  of  that 
I  despair),  I  should  be  capable  of  changing  my  mind ;  until  then, 
and  ever,  I  remain, 

"  Honorable  Sir, 

"  Yours  to  serve, 

"  INCREASE  MATHER. 
"  December  16th,  1698." 


No.  XVI.  — See  p.  103. 
LETTER  FROM  JOHN  LEVERETT  TO  ISAAC  ADDINGTON. 

JohrfLev™  "  Cambridge,  August  IQth,  1699.  I  have  nothing  proper  to  send 
Isaac  Ad  to  ^our  ^onor>  unless  it  be  a  short  account  of  an  election  made  at 
dington.  College  last  Monday.  As  soon  as  I  got  home  I  was  informed,  that 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  501 

Rev.   President  (I.   M.),  held   a   Corporation   at  the   College   the  APPENDIX, 
7th  inst.,  and  the  said  Corporation,  after  the  publication  of  the  new      °' 
settlement,  made  choice  of  Mr.  Fbint  to  be  one  of  the  Tutors  at  Better  from 

y  John  Lev- 

College.     They  have  taken  off  from  Mr.  Pemberton's  salary  £  10  per   erett  to 

annum,  and  have  curtailed  and  docked  Mr.  Fitch  of  £  15,  and  of  a  dington. 
classis,  with  which  they  have  patched  up  a  pension  for  a  third  Fellow. 
I  have  not  the  late  act  for  incorporating  the  College  at  hand,  nor 
have  I  seen  the  new  temporary  settlement ;  but  I  perceive,  that  all 
the  members  of  the  late  Corporation  were  not  notified  to  be  at  the 
meeting.  I  can't  say  how  legal  these  late  proceedings  are ;  but  it 
is  wonderful,  that  an  establishment  for  so  short  a  time  as  till  October 
next,  should  be  made  use  of  so  soon  to  introduce  an  unnecessary 
addition  to  that  society."  t 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT." 


No.  XVII.  —  See  p.  112. 

LETTER  OF  PRESIDENT  MATHER  TO  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
STOUGHTON. 

"  To  the  Honorable  William    Stoughton,    Esquire,   Lieutenant-   Letter  of 
Governor.  Matherto 

"  To  be  communicated  to  the  General  Assembly.  Lieutenant- 

J  Governor 

"  Honorable  Sir,  Stoughton 

"  I  promised  the  last  General  Court  to  take  care  of  the  College 
until  the  Commencement.  Accordingly  I  have  been  residing  in 
Cambridge  these  three  months.  I  am  determined  (if  the  Lord  will) 
to  return  to  Boston  the  next  week,  and  no  more  return  to  reside  in 
Cambridge;  for  it  is  not  reasonable  to  desire  me  to  be  (as,  out  of 
respect  to  the  public  interest,  I  have  been  six  months  within  this 
twelve)  any  longer  absent  from  my  family.  And  it  is  much  more 
unreasonable  to  desire  one,  so  circumstanced  as  I  am,  to  remove 
my  family  to  Cambridge,  when  the  College  is  in  such  an  unsettled 
state.  I  do  therefore  earnestly  desire,  that  the  General  Court  would, 
as  soon  as  may  be,  think  of  another  President  for  the  College.  It 
would  be  fatal  to  the  interest  of  religion,  if  a  person  disaffected  to 
the  order  of  the  Gospel,  professed  and  practised  in  these  churches, 
should  preside  over  this  society.  I  know  the  General  Assembly, 
out  of  their  regard  to  the  interest  of  Christ,  will  take  care  to  pre- 
vent it.  It  is,  and  has  been,  my  prayer  to  God,  that  one  much  more 


502 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  learned  than  I  am,  and  more  fit  to  inspect  and  govern  the  College, 
VIL     may  be  sent  hither,  and  one  whom  all  the  churches  in  New  Eng- 
land shall  have  cause  to  bless  the  Lord  for. 


Letter  of 

President 

Mather  to 

Lieutenant. 

Governor 

Stoughton. 


"  So  I  remain  yours  to  honor  and  serve, 

"  INCREASE  MATHER. 
"  From  the  College  in  Cambridge, 
June  3Qth,  1701." 


Letter  of 
John  Ley- 
erett  to 
Benjamin 

Colinan. 


No.  XVIII.  —  See  p.  132. 
LETTER  OF  JOHN  LEVERETT  TO  BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 

"  Cambridge,  May  25M,  1699. 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  I  have  wrote  several  letters  to  you,  but  have  not  been  sure  of 
your  receiving  any  more  than  one  of  them.  However,  I  hope  they 
have  been  so  happy  as  to  kiss  your  hands,  and  to  testify  to  you  my 
regards.  This  I  trust  will  get  safe  to  you,  since  it  waits  upon  those 
that  send  their  invitations  to  you  to  come  over  to  do  service  in  your 
own  country.  The  gentlemen  that  solicit  your  return  inform  me 
of  their  doing  so,  and  I  hope  their  hopes  of  obtaining  what  they 
send  for,  will  not  be  frustrated,  nor  long  deferred.  I  believe,  Sir, 
you  have  as  advantageous  a  prospect  as  any  our  country  can  offer. 
The  gentlemen  engaged  in  that  affair  are  able,  vigorous,  and  sin- 
cere. They  are  men  of  honor,  and  can't,  in  an  ordinary  way,  fail 
a  reasonable  expectation.  The  work  they  have  begun  had  its  rise 
from  a  zeal  that  is  not  common,  and  the  progress  of  it  is  orderly 
and  steady.  I  am  heartily  pleased  with  the  motion  they  have  made 
towards  yourself,  because  I  shall  exceedingly  rejoice  at  your  return 
into  your  country.  We  want  persons  of  your  character.  You  will, 
I  doubt  not,  let  the  name  of  your  country  have  a  weight  in  the 
balance  of  your  consideration.  The  affair  offered  to  you  is  great, 
and  of  great  moment.  I  pray  almighty  God  to  be  your  director  in 
it.  It  is  he  that  thrusts  laborers  into  his  harvest,  and  bounds  the 
habitations  of  the  sons  of  Adam  ;  that  yours  (if  it  may  be  for  your 
advantage)  may  be  where  you  have  this  invitation,  is  heartily  de- 
sired by  all  that  I  have  heard  speak  of  it ;  but  it  cannot  be  more 
agreeable  to  any  body  than  it  is  to, 

"  Sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT." 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


503 


No.  XIX.  —  See  p.  156. 


ADDRESS  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  GOVERNOR  DUDLEY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XIX. 


"  To  his  Excellency,  Joseph  Dudley,  Esq.,  Captain-General  and  Address  of 
Governor-in-chief  in  and  over  her  Majesty's  Province  of  ration0to°~ 
Massachusetts  Bay,  &c.  The  humble  address  of  the  Fellows 


of  Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge,  showeth, 

"  That  we  have,  according  to  the  rules  of  our  House,  unanimous- 
ly declared  our  desires,  that  the  future  Heads  of  this  College  may  be 
resident  here,  and,  as  resident  Presidents  were  anciently  wont  to  do, 
may  govern  the  students,  and  serve  them  with  Divinity  expositions, 
&c.  And  in  pursuance  thereof  we  have  chosen  the  Honorable  John 
Leverett,  Esq.,  our  next  President,  of  whom  we  have  good  confi- 
dence, that  he  will  (when  accepted  and  subsisted)  lay  aside  and 
decline  all  interfering  offices  and  employments,  and  devote  himself 
to  said  work ;  and,  by  the  divine  help,  be  a  very  faithful  and  able 
instrument  to  promote  the  holy  religion  here  practised  and  estab- 
lished, by  instructing  and  fitting  for  our  pulpits  and  churches,  and 
other  public  and  useful  services,  such  as  shall  in  this  school  of  the 
prophets  be  committed  to  his  care  and  charge. 

"  We  recommend  the  said  Honorable  person  as  our  President  to 
your  Excellency's  favorable  acceptation,  and  pray,  that  you  would 
present  him  to  the  Honorable  General  Assembly,  and  move  for  his 
honorable  subsistence,  if  your  Excellency  thinks  fit. 
"  So  we  rest,  your  Excellency's 

"  Most  humble  servants, 

"  JAMES  ALLEN,  Senior  Fellow, 

"  Harvard  College,  Cambridge, 
October  28M,  1707. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  College,  the  28th 
of  October,  1707.  Voted,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  the  Senior 
Fellow,  sign  the  above  address,  and  present  the  same  to  His  Ex- 
cellency in  the  name  of  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College ;  and  Mr. 
Treasurer,  with  the  Fellows  living  in  Boston,  are  desired  to  accom- 
pany the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  when  he  waits  on  the  Governor  with  the 
said  address." 


Governor 
Dudley. 


504  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX, 
No.  XX. 

No.  XX.  — See  p.  157. 

ADDRESS  OF  THIRTY-NINE  MINISTERS  TO  GOVERNOR 
DUDLEY. 

Address  of  "  May  it  please  your  Excellency, 

inlsters  to       "  ^e  nave  latety>  w'tn  great  joy,  understood  the  great  and  early 
Governor      care  that  our  brethren,  who  have  the  present  care  and  oversight  of 

Dudley. 

the  College  at  Cambridge,  have  taken  in  supplying  the  place  of  the 
late  reverend  and  learned  Mr.  Samuel  Willard,  deceased,  by  their 
unanimous  choice  of  Mr.  John  Leverett,  a  worthy  member  of  that 
society,  to  be  the  President  of  that  College.  And  we  humbly  take 
the  freedom  to  acquaint  and  assure  your  Excellency,  that  no  person 
whatsoever  could  be  more  acceptable  to  us  in  that  station.  Your 
Excellency  personally  knows  Mr.  Leverett  so  well,  that  we  shall 
say  the  less  of  him.  However,  we  cannot  but  give  this  testimony 
of  our  great  affection  to  and  esteem  for  him  ;  that  we  are  abundantly 
satisfied  and  assured  of  his  religion,  learning,  and  other  excellent 
accomplishments  for  that  eminent  service,  a  long  experience  of 
which  we  had  while  he  was  Senior  Fellow  of  that  House  ;  for  that, 
under  the  wise  and  faithful  government  of  him,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Brattle,  of  Cambridge,  the  greatest  part  of  the  now  rising  ministry 
in  New  England  were  happily  educated ;  and  we  hope  and  promise 
ourselves,  through  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  our  fathers,  to  see 
religion  and  learning  thrive  and  flourish  in  that  society,  under  Mr. 
Leverett's  wise  conduct  and  influence,  as  much  as  ever  yet  it  hath 
done. 

"  We  accept  with  all  thankfulness  your  Excellency's  great,  sin- 
cere, and  constant  care  and  respect  to  the  College,  and  doubt  not 
you  will  now  readily  give  an  instance  of  it,  not  only  in  approving 
the  choice  made,  but  also  in  procuring  and  encouraging,  as  much  as 
in  you  lies,  an  honorable  support  and  maintenance  for  the  Presi- 
dent, the  granting  of  which  we  doubt  not  but  that  our  great  and 
General  Court  will  cheerfully  and  readily  take  effectual  care  of. 

"  Your  Excellency  will  easily  excuse  the  freedom  we  take,  when 
you  consider  how  very  near  and  dear,  both  to  yourself  and  us,  the 
interest  of  that  society  is,  and  that  the  support  and  encouragement 
of  religion  and  learning  in  the  College  is  of  the  last  importance  to 
the  church  and  state  of  New  England. 

"  We  shall  add  no  more,  but  pray  for  the  divine  blessing  on  your 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


505 


Excellency's  person,  family,  and  happy  government,  and  subscribe   APPENDIX, 

i  No.  XX. 

ourselves,  _ 


"  Your  Excellency's  sincere  and  humble  servants, 


"  John  Rogers,  Ipswich. 
Edward  Payson,  Rowley. 
Benjamin  Rolfe,  Haverliill. 
Thomas  Wells,  Amesbury. 
Moses  Hale,  Newbury  Falls. 
Samuel  Belcher,  Newbury. 
Christopher  Tappan,  do. 
Joseph  Dwight,  Woodstock, 
Benjamin  Col  man,  Boston. 
Caleb  Gushing,  Salisbury. 
Eliphalet  Adams,  Boston. 
Jabez  Fitch,  Ipswich. 
Joseph  Belcher,  Dedham. 
Moses  Fiske,  Braintree. 
John  Norton,  Hingham. 
Nathaniel  Eells,  Scituate. 
Nathaniel  Pitcher,  Scituate. 
James  Gardner,  Marshfield. 
John  Robinson,  Duxbury. 
Ephraim  Little,  Plymouth. 


Samuel  Danforth,  Taunton. 
John  Sparhawk,  Bristol. 
Thomas  Greenwood,  Rehoboth. 
Samuel  Man,  Wrentham. 
Joseph  Baxter,  Medfield. 
Samuel  Cheever,  Marblehead. 
Nicholas  Noyes,  Salem. 
James  Shephard,  Lynn. 
John  Wise,  Ipswich. 
Joseph  Capen,  Topsjield. 
Thomas  Bernard,  Andover. 
Thomas  Blowers,  Beverley. 
John  Swift,  Framingham. 
Robert  Buck,  Marlborough. 
Israel  Loring,  Sudbury. 
Samuel  Whiting,  Billerica. 
Joseph  Estabrook,  Concord. 
John  Hancock,  Cambridge. 
John  Fox,  Woburn." 


Address  of 
thirty-nine 

ministers  to 


No.  XXI.  —  See  p.  166. 

Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1802, 
elected  President  of  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  in  1831,  first 
Mayor  of  the  city  of  Salem  in  1836,  a  Representative  for  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in  1838. 


No.  XXII.  —  See  pp.  182, 269. 
JOHN  BULKLEY'S  DEED  TO  HARVARD  COLLEGE. 

"1645.  Decembris  20°.  Noverint  universi  per  prresentes,  quod  John  Bulk- 
egomet  Johannes  Buckleius,  nuper  studens  Collegii  Harvardini,  dono  to^Harvard 
Henricum  Dunsterum,  dicti  Collegii  Praesidem,  utpote  eidem  ob 

VOL.  i.  64 


506 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


John  Bulk- 
ley's  deed 
to  Harvard 
College. 


APPENDIX,  plurima  atque  ampla  accepta  beneficia  devinctissimus,  niea  parte 
illius  jugeris  quod  ipse  cum  Domino  Downingo,  Samuele  Winthropo, 
et  Johanne  Alcoke,  cmimus  a  patre-familias  Marritt,  viz.  Quarta 
parte  pomarii  dudum  a  nobis  plantati,  et  dimidium  reliqui  manentis 
adhuc  agrestis,  ut,  dum  hie  Prseses  vixerit,  pro  sua  vendicet  ordinet- 
que.  Sin  aliquando  Presidium  exuerit,  aut  in  eodem  vita,  defunctus 
fuerit,  turn  velim  ut  Collegium,  tanquam  /.tmov  tenue  ab  alumno 
inaxime  benevolo,  sibi  in  perpetuum  appropriaret. 
"  Haec  ego  propria  manu 

"  JOHANNES  BUCKLEIUS."  * 


No.  XXIII.  —  See  p.  186. 


DONATIONS  TO  THE  COLLEGE  DURING  THE  SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY. 


These  were  in  money,  lands,  books,  or  specific  articles. 

1.  Donations  in  money.     Those  received  before  the  year  1654 


Donations 
to  the  Col- 
lege during 

teenth  cen-  have  been  already  enumerated,  and,  with  the  names  of  the  donors, 
are  contained  in  Appendix,  No.  I.,  except  those  of  Thomas  Adams 
and  Christopher  Coulson,  who  paid  their  donations  to  Nathaniel 
Eaton,  of  which  the  amount  is  unknown. 

All  the  subsequent  donations  in  money,  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  including  contributions  towards  the  repair  of  the  College 
edifices,  but  not  including  legislative  grants  for  the  support  of  the 
President,  were  as  follows. 


1654.    Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  of  Dedham,  gave  two  cows,  valued  at 
1656.  Richard  Dana,  (in  cotton  cloth,)  .  .  . 

John  Stedman,  of  Cambridge,  .  .  . 

Edmund  Angier,  .  .  .  . 

Edward  Jackson,        ..... 

Nicholas  Davison,  ..... 

Edmund  Frost,  ruling  elder  of  the  church  in  Cambridge, 

A  widow  in  Roxbury,  .... 

Daniel  Kempster,  ..... 


£. 
9 
0 
1 
1 


s.  d. 

0  0 

9  0 

0  0 

0  0 


2  12  0 
1  10  0 

0  10  0 

1  0  0 
050 


*  The  above  was  transcribed  into  the  Donation  Book  of  the  College,  Vol.  I. 
p.  133,  with  this  title ;  "  Extractum  Doni  Pomarii  Sociorum  per  Johannem 
Buckleium." 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


507 


Samuel  Richardson,  of  Woburn, 

Richard  Russell,  of  Charlestown, 

Peter  Oliver,  ..... 

Richard  Bellingham,       ..... 

John  Newgate,  ..... 

Increase  Newell,  ..... 

Robert  Keyne,  .  .  .  •  « 

Theodore  Atkinson,         ..... 

Richard  Saltonstall,  .... 

Elder  Colburn,  of  Boston,  . 

Hezekiah  Usher,  of  Boston,  merchant, 

Samuel  Cole,       .  .  .  .  . 

James  Oliver,  ..... 

Samuel  Danforth,  ..... 

From  Charlestown,  .... 

John  Wilson,  senior,  forty  shillings  per  annum  for  ten 
years,         ...... 

1658.  Edward  Hopkins,  of  Hartford,  a  legacy,  payable  in 
corn  and  meal,  (College  Book,  No.  III.  p.  49,  pay  ac- 
knowledged, and  cost  of  transportation  of  it  from 
Hartford  charged,)  .... 

Bridget  Wynes,  of  Charlestown,  legacy, 

Thomas  Peirce,  do.  do. 

Mr.  Rouse,  sadler,        do.  do. 

Edward  Tyng,  ..... 


5 

20 
10 


5 
124 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XXIII. 

Donations 
to  the  Col- 
lege during 
the  seven- 
teenth cen- 
tury. 


20     0  0 


Mr.  Stranguish,  of  London, 
William  Paine,  of  Boston,          . 
John  Paine,  his  son,  .... 

These   gifts  of  John  and  William  Paine   were  laid 
out  in    the  purchase  of  land,    lying  north  of  the  old 
meetinghouse,  on  which  Dane  Hall  is  now  built. 
William  Colburne,  of  Boston, 

The  inhabitants  of  Eleutheria,  "  out  of  their  poverty," 
This  was  one  of  the  Bahama  Islands,  for  which  collec- 
tions had  been  made  in  New  England.* 
1659.  Richard  Saltonstall,  a  legacy,  in  cash, 

and  in  goods,  which  cost  in  England,  .  . 

Robert  Keyne,  of  Boston,  merchant, 
John  Dodderidge,  of  Bremeridge,  in  Dover  county,  gave 
a  yearly  legacy  of  ten  pounds  for  poor  scholars. 


*  In  Flynt's  manuscript  account  of  benefactions,  there  is  this  statement  con- 
cerning this  gift  ;  "  Incolse  et  Plantatores  Insulro  Segotese,  sive  Eleutherise,  in 
testimonium  gratitudinis  erga  Massachusettenses  pro  necessariis  in  extrema 
illorum  indigentia  transmissis  subsidiis,  Collegio  designarunt." 


0  0 

0  0 

0  0 

10  0 

10  0 

0  0 

0  0 

0  0 

0  0 


0  0 

o  b 


0  0 
0  0 
0  0 


508  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  (Nothing  was  received  subsequent  to   1684.     And, 

after  considerable  expense  at  law,  the  Corporation 

Donations  abandoned  the  prosecution  in  1737.)  paid  for  24  years,  240    0    0 

to  the  Col-     1660.   Henry  Webb,  of  Boston,  merchant,  .  .  50    0    0 

the  seven-      1669.   Henry  Henley,  of  Lime,  in  Dorsetshire,  England,  27    0    0 

teenth  cen- 
tury. .£1273     5     0 

Contributions  for  erecting  a  new  College, 
1669.    Town  of  Portsmouth  gave  sixty  pounds  per 
annum  for  seven  years,  of  which  Richard 
Cutts  subscribed  £  20  per  annum,  420    0  0 
Boston,  of  which  Sir  Thomas  Temple  sub- 
scribed £  100  and  Benjamin  Gibbs  £  50,  800    0  0 
Salem,  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Higginson 
subscribed    £  50,    Mr.   William    Brown 
£  40,  Mr.  Edmund  Batter  £  20,  130    2  3 
Dorchester,             .            .            .            .  67    4  11 
Lynn,                  .             .             .             .  20     0  0 
Watertown,             .            .            .            .  41  16  3 
Cambridge  and  the  village,       .            .  199     1  8 
Ipswich,       .             .             .             .  60     3  2 
t            Newbury,          .            .            .            .  21     4  0 
Charlestown,           .            .            .            .  196  11  1 
Weymouth,       .            .            .            .  39  10  0 
Braintree,                .            .            .            .  87  14  6 
Rowley,            .             .            .            .  40    8  5 
Dedham,  of  which  Ensign  Thomas  Fuller 

gave  £5,            .            .            .            .  61  12  0 

Roxbury,           .            .            .            .  37  16  8 

Concord,     .            .            .                         .  33    7  5 

Sudbury,           .            .            .            .  24    0  8 

Marblehead,            .            .            .  8  19  6 

Springfield,       .            .            .            .  17  18  9 

Hadley,       .            .            .            .            .  33  15  3 

Northampton,    .            .            .            .  20    9  4 

Westfield,               .            .            .            .  12    8  1 

Dover,               .            .            .            .  32  15  0 

Kittery, 22    0  0 

Salisbury,          .            .            .            .  17    0  0 
Topsfield,    .            .            .            .            .600 

Exeter,              .           .           .           .  10    0  0 

Chelmsford,             .            .            .            .  18     7  0 

Billerica,            .           .           .           .  12    4  0 

Marlborough,           .            .            .            .  11  11  0 

Gloucester,         .           .           .           .  500 

Andover,      .           .           .           .           .  12  10  0 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


509 


Brought  over, 

£  1,273 

5     0    APPENDIX, 

Medfield,              .... 

7 

16 

0 

No.  XXIII. 

14 

18 

0 

Donations 

Wenham,           .            .            .            . 

4 

11 

5 

to  the  Col- 

lege during 

Hingham,     .            .            ... 

19 

6 

2 

the  seven- 

Hull,        

3 

18 

0 

teenth  cen- 
tury. 

Reading,       .            .            .            *            . 

30 

17 

6 

Maiden,               .            .            .            . 

10 

0 

0 

Haverhill      ..... 

18 

10 

6 

Scarborough,      .... 

2 

9 

6 

Bradford,                   .            •            .            . 

9 

3 

0 

Beverly,              .... 

13 

0 

0 

Hatfield,       ..... 

14 

2 

0 

Woburn,            .            .            .            . 

27 

2 

0 

Amount  of  the  contributions, 

£  2,697 

5     0 

1669. 

Sir  George  Downing, 

5 

0 

0 

A  Gentleman  iu  England,  by  Peter  Serjeant, 

27 

0 

0 

1670. 

From  England,                               do. 

20 

0 

0 

1672. 

Henry  Ashurst,             .            .            . 

100 

0 

0 

1674. 

From  England,  by  Peter  Serjeant, 

24 

0 

0 

1676. 

Judith  Finch's  legacy, 

0 

14 

C 

Captain  Scarlet  gave  by  legacy  an  annuity 

of  £  5  for  ever,  of  which  appears  to  have 

been  received  only                 .            . 

10 

0 

0 

Richard   Russell  gave   £  100,   payable   in 

provisions,  of  which  appears  to  have  been 

received  only 

31 

13 

4 

1679. 

John  Smedley,  of  Concord,             . 

10 

0 

0 

1680. 

David  Wilton,  by  legacy,         .            . 

10 

0 

0 

Henry  Clarke,  of  Hadley,  by  legacy,      -  . 

50 

0 

0 

1681. 

Sir  Matthew  Hoi  worthy,  by  legacy  £  1000 

sterling,  in  Massachusetts  currency     .      1, 

234 

2 

6 

Capt.  John  Hull,           .            .            . 

100 

0 

0 

1683. 

Nathaniel    Hulton,    of  Newington    Green 

(England),  by  legacy,  £  100  sterling, 

130 

0 

0 

Thomas  Gunston,  of  Stock   Newington, 

£  50  sterling, 

65 

0 

0 

1686. 

William  Brown,  by  legacy, 

100 

0 

0 

William  Pennoyer*   bequeathed  a  rent  charge 

upon  estates  in  England,  from  which  was  received 

before 

1685,       ..... 

241 

16 

6 

1695. 

Mrs.  Mary  Anderson,  by  legacy,     . 

5 

0 

0 

£2,164 

6  10 

Amount  of  donations  in  money  during  the  17th  century, 

£6,134 

16  10 

See  above,  p.  185. 


510  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,       Besides  the  above,  the  following  donations  appear  on 

No    XXIII 

'  the  books  of  the  College,  from  which  it  is  not  known 

toThe'coU    ^at  any  tning  has  been  received,  viz. 

lege  during   1683.   Henry  Ashworth,     .  .  .  £  128  0  0 

lecnTce^.                 JosePh  Brown>                    •  •              •            100  0  0 

tury.             1693.    Rev.  Edmund  Brown,  .            .                 100  0  0 

Deacon  William  Trusdale,  .            .            40  0  0 

Owen  Stockton,         .  .            .                   20  0  0 


£  388  0  0 

And  the  following  legacies  were  not  obtained  until  the 
next  century. 
1657.    Edward  Hopkins's  legacy  of  .  .  £  500  sterling. 

Not  received  until  1718. 

1681.    Robert  Thorner,  of  Baddesley,  in  Southampton   (Eng- 
land), .....  500  sterling. 
Not  received,  in  the  whole,  until  1775. 
1697.    Robert  Boyle,  for  the  salary  of  two  ministers  to  preach 

to  the  natives,  .  .  .  £  55  sterling,  per  annum. 

2.  Benefactions  in  lands,  or  incomes  issuing  therefrom. 

Acres. 
1638.   The  town  of  Cambridge,  2J 

Being  part  of  the  land  on  which  the  Colleges  now  stand. 
1640.    The  General   Court,   the  Ferry  between  Boston  and 
Charlestown. 

1645.  John  Bulkley  and  Matthew  Day,  Fellows' Orchard,*  1  Ird. 

1646.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ward,  ....  600 
On  Merrimack  river,  near  Andover ;  said  in  the  books 

to  have  been  purchased  because  given  in  discharge  of  a 
debt.     President  Wadswortu    states,   that  the   College 


*  This  gift  is  thus  mentioned  in  College  Book,  No.  III.  p.  32 ;  and  Donation 
Book,  Vol.  V.  p.  12. 

"  Mr.  John  Bulkley,  first  Master  of  Arts  in  Harvard  College,  and  Matthew 
Day,  Steward  of  the  College,  gave  a  garden,  containing  about  one  acre  and 
one  rod  of  land,  situate  near  and  adjoining  to  the  College,  and  ordered  the 
same  to  be  for  the  use  of  the  Fellows  that  should  from  time  to  time  belong  to, 
and  be  resident  at,  the  said  society,  the  said  garden  being  now  commonly  called 
and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Fellows'  Orchard." 

This  is  the  only  record  in  which  Day's  name  is  mentioned.  Neither  of  the 
books  that  contain  it  is  an  original  record.  See  above,  pp.  408,  410,  and  both 
refer  to  Bulkley 's  deed,  which  says  nothing  about  Day,  and  contains  no 
limitation  to  the  use  of  the  Fellows. 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


511 


derived  no  benefit  from  it,  "  through  the  negligence  of 
former  times."     College  Boole,  No.  III.  p.  104. 

Israel  Stoughton,  by  legacy,  .  .  . 

On  the  northeast  side  of  Neponsit,  about  Mother 
Brook,  and  on  the  Blue  Hill. 

Robert  Sedgwick,  ''  a  shop." 

Sometimes  called  "  two  shops  in  Boston,  standing  by 
the  ordinary  called  the  Ship  Tavern."  Let  by  President 
Dunster  for  ten  shillings  annual  rent.  There  is  no  ac- 
count of  any  receipt  from  it  after  1668.  College  Book, 
No.  III.  p.  107. 

1650.    John  Newgate,  of  Boston,  gave  £  5  for  ever,  out  of 
the  rents  and  revenues  of  his  farm  at  Rumney  Marsh. 
1652.   Town  of  Cambridge,  .... 

In  Lexington. 

John  Coggan,  of  Boston,  gave  seventy  acres  of  Salt 
Marsh  in  Rumney  Marsh,     .... 
This  was  leased  in  Wadsworth's  time  for  .£20  or 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XXIII. 


1653. 


1654. 


per  annum. 

Town  of  Cambridge,     ..... 
On  the  east  side  of  Shawshin,  now  Billerica. 

Henry  Dunster,  adjoining  and  making  with   the  above 

one  parcel,  ..... 

John  GJover,  £  5  a  year,  to  be  raised  out  of  a  moiety  of 

his  land  given  to  his  son,  for  ever. 
Robert  Cooke,  of  Charlestown,  800  acres,  confirmed  by 

the  General  Court. 
The  College  obtained  nothing. 

1657.    General  Court,  2000  acres  in  the  Pequod  country. 
The  College  obtained  nothing  by  this  gift. 

1659.  Robert  Keyne,  of  Boston,  merchant,  half  of  a  house  in 

Boston,  valued  at  £  147,  10s.     In  1659  it  was  leased 
for  ten  pounds.     Situated  near  the  old  meetinghouse. 

1660.  Henry  Webb,  a  house  in  Boston. 

Situated  in  Washington  Street,  and  extending  in  the 
rear  to  Devonshire  Street. 

Rev.  Ezekiel  Rogers,  reversion  of  house  and  lands  in 
Rowley,  upwards  of  .... 

Not  received  until  fifty  years  afterwards. 

1669.  Elder  Richard  Champney,        .  .  .  . 
In  Cambridge. 

1670.  William  Pennoyer,  rents  out  of  estates  in   England, 

originally  £  34  per  annum,  sometimes  no  more  than 
£  13. 


300 


Donations 
to  the  Col- 
lege during 
the  seven- 
teenth cen- 
tury. 


20 


70 


100 


100 


150 


40 


512 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XXIII. 

Donations 
to  the  Col- 
lege during 
the  seven- 
teenth cen- 
tury. 


1671.  Theodore  Atkinson,  40  rods  of  land  by  breadth  and 

length. 
The  College  obtained  nothing. 

1672.  John  Hay  ward,  of  Charlestown,  by  legacy,      .  .  24 
Land  in  Watertown,  bounding  north  on  Fresh  Pond. 

1678.   Daniel  Russell  gave  by  will  1000  acres  at  Winter  Harbour. 
The  land  was  never  obtained  by  the  College. 

1680.  Samuel  Ward  (Bumpkin's,  now)  Ward's  Island,  .          30 
Lies  between  the  towns  of  Hingham  and  Hull. 

1681.  Edward  Jackson,  lands  in  Billerica. 
Never  obtained. 

1682.  General  Court,  Merriconeag  Neck. 
Never  recovered. 

1683.  Town  of  Cambridge,       .....  3k 
Land  in  Cambridge. 

1696.  Samuel  Se wall,  and  Hannah  Sewall,  his  wife,  .          500 

At  Petaquamscott. 


Acres,  1,961$ 
3.  Benefactions  in  books. 

1638.  John  Harvard  gave,  by  will,  .  .  .          320  vols.  • 

A  catalogue  of  these  books  is  preserved  in  College 

Book,  No.  I. 

1642.   The  magistrates  gave  from  their  libraries  books  to  the 

value  of          .  .  .  .  .  .  £  200    0    0 

1658.*  Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  29  books,  valued  at  .  60     0    0 

A  catalogue  of  these  is  preserved  in  College  Book,  No.  I. 


*  Of  the  scarcity  of  books  at  that  period,  and  the  value  attached  to  them,  the 
following  document,  preserved  on  the  Collage  records,  is  a  curious  evidence. 

"  A  copy  of  Mr.  Dunster's  note,  given  to  Mr.  Scottow. 

"  These  presents  witness,  that  whereas  Joshua  Scottow,  of  Boston,  merchant, 
hath  of  his  own  free  accord  procured  for  the  library  of  Harvard  College,  Henry 
Stephens  his  Thesaurus,  in  four  volumes,  in  folio,  and  bestowed  the  same 
thereon,  it  is  on  this  condition,  and  with  this  promise  following;  that  if  ever 
the  said  Joshua,  during  his  life,  shall  have  occasion  to  use  the  said  book,  or  any 
parcel  thereof,  he  shall  have  free  liberty  thereof,  and  access  thereto.  And  if 
God  shall  bless  the  said  Joshua  with  any  child,  or  children,  that  shall  be  stu- 
dents of  the  Greek  tongue,  then  the  said  books  above  specified  shall  be  unto 
them  delivered,  in  case  that  they  will  not  otherwise  be  satisfied  without  it. 

"  In  witness  whereof  this  present  writing  is  signed  by  me,  Henry  Dunster, 
President  of  the  College,  aforesaid,  made  at  Boston,  this  twenty-eighth  of  the 
eighth  month,  1649.  „  HENRY  DcNSTER.» 

"  Received  of  Mr.  Urian  Oakes,  President,  the  above  Thesaurus,  in  four 
volumes,  according  to  conditions  above,  upon  the  demand  of  my  son,  Thomas 
Scottow.  I  say,  received  per  me,  this  30th  of  August. 

"  JOSHUA  SCOTTOW." 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


613 


Thomas  Graves,  some  Mathematical  books. 

John  Freck  gave  Biblia  Polyglotta. 

Ralph  Freck,  books  valued  at         .         .         .         .         .         10  0  0 

John  Winthrop,  Governor,  40  volumes  of  choice  books, 

valued  at 20  0  0 

A  catalogue  of  these  is  preserved  in  College  Book,  No.  I. 

Sir  Richard  Daniel,  Knight,  gave  many  books. 
1660.   Rev.  Ezekiel  Rogers,  by  legacy,  gave  part  of  his  library. 
1675.   John  Lightfoot,  D.  D.,  his  whole  library,  by  legacy. 
1678.    Theophilus  Gale,  D.  D.,  bequeathed  his  library  to  the 
College,  which  made  more  than  half  the  College 
library. 
See  the  entry,  Donation  Book,  Vol.  I.  p.  19. 

Joseph  Brown,  books  by  legacy,  valued  at         .  50     0    0 

1681.  Edward  Jackson  gave  Broughton's  Chronology. 

1682.  Sir  John  Maynard,  Serjeant  at  Law,  gave  eight  chests 

of  books,  valued  at        .....    400    0    0 

4.  Benefactions  in  miscellaneous  articles. 

1656.  Mr.  Thomas  Langham,  piece  of  plate,  valued  at  .          3    3  10 
Mr.  Venn,  a  fruit-dish,  sugar-spoon,  and  silver-tipt  jug. 

Richard  Harr,  one  great  salt,  and  one  small  trencher 
salt. 

1657.  Richard  Sprague,  by  will,  gave  30  ewe  sheep,  valued  at  £  30 

1658.  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Boston,  merchant,  one  pewter  flagon, 

valued  at  .  .  .  .  .  0  10    0 

Sir  Thomas  Temple,  Knight,  one  pair  of  globes. 
John  Willet,  a  bell. 
John  Ward,  of  Ipswich,  legacy,  obtained  in  horses,  72    0    0 

1683.  Samuel  Paris,  a  silver  tankard,  valued  at          .  .          7  10    0 
Edward  Page,  one  silver  goblet. 

Francis  Wainwright,  one  silver  goblet. 


APPENDIX, 
NO.  XXIII. 

Donations 
to  the  Col- 
lege during 
the  seven- 
teenth cen- 
tury. 


No.  XXIV.  — See  p.  188. 

LAW  AUTHORIZING  FINES  AND  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT  IN 

COLLEGE. 

"  It  is  hereby  ordered  that  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  for  the  time  being,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  are  hereby 
empowered,  according  to  their  best  discretion,  to  punish  all  mis- 
demeanors of  the  youth  in  their  society,  either  by  fine,  or  whipping 
in  the  Hall  openly,  as  the  nature  of  the  offence  shall  require,  not 
exceeding  ten  shillings  or  ten  stripes  for  one  offence ;  and  this  law 

VOL.  i.  65 


Law  autho- 
rizing fines 
and  corpo- 
ral punish- 
ment in  the 
College. 


514 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XXIV. 

Law  autho- 
rizing fines 
and  corpo- 
ral punish- 
ment in  the 
College. 


to  continue  in  force  until  this  Court  or  the  Overseers  of  the  College 
provide  some  other  order  to  punish  such  offences.  The  magistrates 
have  past  this  with  reference  to  the  consent  of  their  brethren,  the 
deputies,  thereunto. 

"  Voted  in  the  affirmative  21st  of  October,  1656. 

"  EDWARD  RAWSON,  Secretary. 
"  Consented  to  by  the  Deputies. 

"  WILLIAM  TORRE Y." 


Cambridge 
town  watch 
authorized 
to  exercise 
their  pow- 
ers within 
the  pre- 
cincts of 
the  Col- 
lege. 


No.  XXV.  — See  p.  190. 

CAMBRIDGE  TOWN  WATCH  AUTHORIZED  TO  EXERCISE 
THEIR  POWERS  WITHIN  THE  PRECINCTS  OF  THE  COL- 
LEGE. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  June  10th,  1659. 

"  Whereas  there  are  great  complaints  of  the  exorbitant  practices 
of  some  students  of  this  College,  by  their  abusive  words  and  actions 
to  the  watch  of  this  town,  the  Corporation,  accounting  it  their 
duty,  by  all  lawful  means,  to  seek  the  redress  thereof  for  the  future, 
do  hereby  declare  to  all  persons  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the 
watch  of  this  town,  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times,  shall  have 
full  power  of  inspection  into  the  manners  and  orders  of  all  persons 
related  to  the  College,  whether  within  or  without  the  precincts  of  the 
said  College  houses  and  lands ;  as  by  law  they  are  empowered  to  act 
in  cases  within  the  limit  of  their  town,  any  law,  usage,  or  custom, 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Provided  always  we  judge  it  not 
convenient,  neither  do  we  allow,  that  any  of  the  said  watchmen 
should  lay  violent  hands  on  any  of  the  students,  being  found  within 
the  precincts  of  the  College  yards,  otherwise  than  so  that  they  may  se- 
cure them  until  they  may  inform  the  President  or  some  of  the  Fellows. 
Neither  shall  they  in  any  case  break  into  their  chambers  or  studies 
without  special  orders  from  the  President  or  Fellows,  or  some  other 
authority  ;  but  in  all  cases,  as  need  may  require,  shall 
seasonably  inform  either  the  President  or  some  of  the  Fellows,  who 
will  take  care  to  examine  the  matter  for  the  effectual  healing  of  all 
such  disorders.  Also,  in  case  any  student  of  this  College  shall  be 
found  absent  from  his  lodging  after  nine  o'clock  at  night,  he  shall 
be  responsible  for  and  to  all  complaints  of  disorder  in  this  kind, 
that,  by  testimony  of  the  watch  or  others,  shall  appear  to  be  done  by 
any  student  of  the  College,  and  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of  the  said 
crime,  unless  he  can  purge  himself  by  sufficient  witness." 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  515 

APPENDIX, 
No.  XXVI. 

No.  XXVI.  — See  p.  190. 
COLLEGE  DISCIPLINE  ENFORCED  BY  THE  CIVIL  AUTHORITY. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  in  Cambridge,  March  27th, 
1682. 

"  Whereas  great  complaints  have  been  made  and  proved  against  College 

,  for  his  abusive  carriage,  in  requiring  some  of  the  Freshmen   enforcedly 

to  go  upon  his  private  errands,  and  in  striking  the  said  Freshmen ;  the ,civ.^ 
and  for  his  scandalous  negligence  as  to  those  duties  that  by  the  laws 
of  the  College  he  is  bound  to  attend  ;  and  having  persisted  obsti- 
nately in  his  will,  notwithstanding  means  used  to  reclaim  him,  and 
also  refused  to  attend  the  Corporation,  when  this  day  required ;  he 
is  therefore  sentenced,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  deprived  of  the  pen- 
sion heretofore  allowed  him,  also  to  be  expelled  the  College,  and, 
in  case  he  shall  presume,  after  twenty-four  hours  are  past,  to  appear 
within  the  College  walls,  that  then  the  Fellows  of  the  place  cause 
him  to  be  carried  before  the  civil  authority." 


No.  XXVII.  — See  pp.  15,  190. 

"THE  LAWS,  LIBERTIES,  AND  ORDERS  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE, 
CONFIRMED  BY  THE  OVERSEERS  AND  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
COLLEGE  IN  THE  YEARS  1642,  1643,  1644,  1645,  AND  1646,  AND 
PUBLISHED  TO  THE  SCHOLARS  FOR  THE  PERPETUAL  PRES- 
ERVATION OF  THEIR  WELFARE  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

"  1.  When  any  scholar  is  able  to  read  Tully,  or  such  like  classical  The  Laws, 
Latin  author  extempore,  and  make  and  speak  true  Latin  in  verse  amj  orders 
and  prose  suo  (ut  aiunt}  Marte,  and  decline  perfectly  the  paradigms   of  Harvard 
of  nouns  and  verbs  in  the  Greek  tongue,  then  may  he  be  admitted  &c. 
into  the  College,  nor  shall  any  claim  admission  before  such  qualifi- 
cations. 

"  2.  Every  one  shall  consider  the  main  end  of  his  life  and  studies, 
to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  eternal  life ;  John  xvii.  3. 

"  3.  Seeing  the  Lord  giveth  wisdom,  every  one  shall  seriously,  by 
prayer  in  secret,  seek  wisdom  of  Him ;  Proverbs  ii.  2,  3,  &c. 

"  4.  Every  one  shall  so  exercise  himself  in  reading  the  Scriptures 
twice  a  day,  that  they  be  ready  to  give  an  account  of  their  pro- 


516  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   ficiency  therein,  both  in  theoretical  observations  of  language  and 

°'    XVI1'   logic,   and  in  practical   and    spiritual  truths,   as  their  Tutor  shall 

The  Laws,    require,  according  to  their  several  abilities  respectively,  seeing  the 

and  Orders    entrance  of  the  word  giveth  light,  &-c. ;  Psalm  cxix.  130. 

College,  "  5.  In  the  public  church  assembly,  they  shall  carefully  shun  all 

gestures  that  show  any  contempt  or  neglect  of  God's  ordinances, 

and  be  ready  to  give  an  account  to  their  Tutors  of  their  profiting, 

and  to  use  the  helps  of  storing  themselves  with  knowledge,  as  their 

Tutors  shall  direct  them.     And  all  Sophisters  and  Bachelors  (until 

themselves  make  common  place)  shall  publicly  repeat  sermons  in 

the  Hall,  whenever  they  are  called  forth. 

"6.  They  shall  eschew  all  profanation  of  God's  holy  name,  attri- 
butes, word,  ordinances,  and  times  of  worship  ;  and  study,  with  rever- 
ence and  love,  carefully  to  retain  God  and  his  truth  in  their  minds. 

"  7.  They  shall  honor  as  their  parents,  magistrates,  elders,  tutors, 
and  aged  persons,  by  being  silent  in  their  presence  (except  they  be 
called  on  to  answer),  not  gainsaying ;  showing  all  those  laudable 
expressions  of  honor  and  reverence  in  their  presence  that  are  in  use, 
as  bowing  before  them,  standing  uncovered,  or  the  like. 

"8.  They  shall  be  slow  to  speak,  and  eschew  not  only  oaths,  lies, 
and  uncertain  rumors,  but  likewise  all  idle,  foolish,  bitter  scoffing, 
frothy,  wanton  words,  and  offensive  gestures. 

"  9.  None  shall  pragmatically  intrude  or  intermeddle  in  other 
men's  affairs. 

"  10.  During  their  residence  they  shall  studiously  redeem  their 
time,  observe  the  general  hours  appointed  for  all  the  scholars,  and 
the  special  hour  for  their  own  lecture,  and  then  diligently  attend  the 
lectures,  without  any  disturbance  by  word  or  gesture ;  and,  if  of  any 
thing  they  doubt,  they  shall  inquire  of  their  fellows,  or  in  case  of 
non-resolution,  modestly  of  their  Tutors.  - 

"11.  None  shall,  under  any  pretence  whatsoever,  frequent,  the 
company  and  society  of  such  men  as  lead  an  ungirt  and  dissolute 
life.  Neither  shall  any,  without  license  of  the  Overseers  of  the 
College,  be  of  the  artillery  or  trainband.  Nor  shall  any,  without  the 
license  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College,  his  Tutor's  leave,  or,  in  his 
absence,  the  call  of  parents  or  guardians,  go  out  to  another  town. 

"  12.  No  scholar  shall  buy,  sell,  or  exchange  any  thing,  to  the 
value  of  sixpence,  without  the  allowance  of  his  parents,  guardians,  or 
Tutors ;  and  whosoever  is  found  to  have  sold  or  bought  any  such 
things  without  acquainting  their  tutors  or  parents,  shall  forfeit  the 
value  of  the  commodity,  or  the  restoring  of  it,  according  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  President. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  517 

"  13.  The  scholars  shall  never  use  their  mother  tongue,  except  APPENDIX, 

that  in  public  exercises  of  oratory,  or  such  like,  they  be  called  to  —  -  ' 
make  them  in  English. 


"  14.  If  any  scholar,  being  in  health,  shall  be  absent  from  prayers  and  Orders 
or  lectures,  except  in  case  of  urgent  necessity,  or  by  the  leave  of  his   College, 
Tutor,  he  shall  be  liable  to  admonition  (or  such  punishment  as  the 
President  shall  think  meet),  if  he  offend  above  once  a  week. 

"  15.  Every  scholar  shall  be  called  by  his  surname  only,  till  he  be 
invested  with  his  first  degree,  except  he  be  a  fellow  commoner,  or 
knight's  eldest  son,  or  of  superior  nobility. 

"  16.  No  scholar  shall,  under  any  pretence  of  recreation  or  other 
cause  whatever  (unless  foreshowed  and  allowed  by  the  President  or 
his  Tutor),  be  absent  from  his  studies  or  appointed  exercises,  above 
an  hour  at  morning  bever,  half  an  hour  at  afternoon  bever,  an  hour 
and  a  half  at  dinner,  and  so  long  at  supper. 

"  17.  If  any  scholar  shall  transgress  any  of  the  laws  of  God,  or 
the  House,  out  of  perverseness,  or  apparent  negligence,  after 
twice  admonition,  he  shall  be  liable,  if  not  adultus,  to  correction  ;  if 
adultus,  his  name  shall  be  given  up  to  the  Overseers  of  the  College, 
that  he  may  be  publicly  dealt  with  after  the  desert  of  his  fault  ;  but 
in  greater  offences  such  gradual  proceeding  shall  not  be  exercised. 

"  18.  Every  scholar,  that  on  proof  is  found  able  to  read  the  original 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  into  the  Latin  tongue,  and  to 
resolve  them  logically,  withal  being  of  honest  life  and  conversa- 
tion, and  at  any  public  act  hath  the  approbation  of  the  Overseers 
and  Master  of  the  College,  may  be  invested  with  his  first  degree. 

"  19.  Every  scholar,  that  giveth  up  in  writing  a  synopsis  or  sum- 
mary of  Logic,  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Arithmetic,  Geome- 
try, and  Astronomy,  and  is  ready  to  defend  his  theses  or  positions, 
withal  skilled  in  the  originals  as  aforesaid,  and  still  continues 
honest  and  studious,  at  any  public  act  after  trial  he  shall  be  capable 
of  the  second  degree,  of  Master  of  Arts." 


No.  XXVIII.  — See  pp.  190,  191. 

"  ORDERS  AGREED  UPON  BY  THE  OVERSEERS,  AT  A  MEETING 
IN  HARVARD  COLLEGE,  MAY  GTH,  1650. 


No  scholar  whatever,  without  the  foreacquaintance  and  leave  Orders  of 

theOv 
seers. 


of  the  President  and  his  Tutor,  or  in  the  absence  of  either  of  them,   the  Over" 


518  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  two  of  the  Fellows,  shall  be  present  at  or  in  any  of  the  public  civil 

No.  XXVIII.  .•  c  r  •       .-  ,       .. 

meetings,  or  concourse   of  people,   as  courts  of  justice,  elections, 

Orders  of      fairs,  or   at  military  exercise,  in  the  time  or  hours  of  the  College 
the  Over-  .  '         .  = 

seers.  exercise,   public   or   private.     Neither    shall    any    scholar    exercise 

himself  in  any  military  band,  unless  of  known  gravity,  and  of  ap- 
proved sober  and  virtuous  conversation,  and  that  with  the  leave  of 
the  President  and  his  Tutor. 

"  No  scholar  shall  take  tobacco,  unless  permitted  by  the  President, 
with  the  consent  of  their  parents  or  guardians,  and  on  good  reason 
first  given  by  a  physician,  and  then  in  a  sober  and  private  manner. 

"  To  the  intent  that  no  scholar  may  misspend  his  time  to  the 
dishonor  of  God  and  the  society,  or  the  grief  and  disappointment 
of  his  friends,  but  that  the  yearly  progress  and  sufficiency  of  scholars 
may  be  manifest,  it  is  therefore  ordered,  that  henceforth  there  shall 
be  three  weeks  of  visitation  yearly,  foresignified  publicly  by  the 
President  of  the  College,  between  the  10th  of  June  and  the  Com- 
mencement, wherein  from  nine  o'clock  to  eleven  in  the  forenoon,  and 
from  one  to  three  in  the  afternoon,  of  the  second  and  third  day  of  the 
week,  all  scholars  of  two  years'  standing  and  upwards,  shall  sit  in  the 
Hall  to  be  examined  by  all  comers,  in  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew 
tongues,  and  in  Rhetoric,  Logic,  and  Physics ;  and  they  that  expect 
to  proceed  Bachelors  that  year,  to  be  examined  of  their  sufficiency 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  College ;  and  such  that  expect  to 
proceed  Masters  of  Arts,  to  exhibit  their  synopsis  of  acts  required 
by  the  laws  of  the  College.  And,  in  case  any  of  the  Sophisters, 
Questionists,  or  Inceptors,  fail  in  the  premises  required  at  their 
hands,  according  to  their  standings  respectively,  or  be  found  in- 
sufficient for  their  time  and  standing  in  the  judgment  of  any  three 
of  the  visitors,  being  Overseers  of  the  College,  they  shall  be  de- 
ferred to  the  following  year.  But  they,  that  are  approved  sufficient 
for  their  degrees,  shall  proceed,  and  the  Sophisters  publicly  ap- 
proved shall  have  their  names  publicly  set  up  in  the  Hall. 

"  Whereas  by  experience  .  we  have  found  it  prejudicial  to  the 
promoting  of  learning  and  good  manners  in  the  College,  to  admit 
such  young  scholars  who  have  been  negligent  in  their  studies,  and 
disobedient  to  their  masters  in  the  schools,  and  so  by  an  evil  custom 
or  habit  become  utterly  unfit  to  improve,  for  their  own  benefit 
according  to  their  friends'  expectation,  the  liberty  of  students  in 
the  College ;  it  is  therefore  ordered  by  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  that  no  scholar  whatsoever,  where  these  be 
published,  shall  henceforth  be  admitted  from  any  such  school,  unless 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  519 

having  the  testimony  of  the  master  of  such  school,  of  his  obedience  APPENDIX, 
and  submission  to  all  godly  school  discipline,  and  of  his  studious-    __^ ; 

ness  and  diligence,  at  leastwise  for  one  quarter  of  a  year  last  before   Orders  of 

the  Over- 
his  coming  thence ;  or,  in  case  of  discontinuance  from  school,  then   seers. 

it  is  expected  he  shall  bring  the  testimony  of  his  sober  and  studious 
conversation,  under  the  hand  of  a  magistrate  or  elder,  or  two  or  three 
competent  and  pious  witnesses." 


No.  XXIX.  — See  p.  199. 

LETTER  FROM  MESSRS.  SEWALL  AND  ADDINGTON,  ACCOM- 
PANYING THEIR  DRAFT  OF  A  CHARTER  FOR  THE  COLLEGE 
AT  NEW  HAVEN. 

"  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Buckingham,  at  Say  Brook,  to  be 
communicated  to  the  Rev.   Israel   Chauncy,  Mr.  Abraham 
Pierson,  and  Mr.  James  Pierpont. 
"  Gentlemen, 

"  We  crave  your  pardon,  that  we  have  made  you  wait  so  long  for  Letter  from 
so  little.  We  might  frame  an  excuse  from  present  circumstances,  gewalfand 
and  say,  '  Multa  nos  impedierunt.'  But  there  is  another  cause  which  Addington. 
makes  us  slow  and  feeble  in  our  progress;  —  not  knowing  what  to 
do  for  fear  of  overdoing.  And  that  is  the  reason  there  is  no  mention 
made  of  any  visitation  ;  which  is  exceedingly  proper  and  beneficial, 
all  human  societies  standing  in  need  of  a  check  upon  them.  But 
we  know  not  how  to  call  and  to  qualify  it,  but  that,  in  a  little  time, 
it  might  prove  subversive  of  your  design.  We  on  purpose  gave  the 
academy  as  low  a  name  as  we  could,  that  it  might  the  better  stand 
in  wind  and  weather ;  not  daring  to  incorporate,  lest  it  should  be 
served  with  a  writ  of  quo  warranto.  We  pray  you  to  accept  of  the 
few  inclosed  hints  for  an  act :  we  should  have  travelled  further  in  it, 
if  your  instructions  or  our  invention  had  dictated  to  us ;  not  know- 
ing well  what  scheme  to  project,  because  we  could  not  tell  how  far 
your  government  will  encourage  the  design.  We  should  be  very 
glad  to  hear  of  flourishing  schools  and  colleges  in  Connecticut,  as 
it  would  be  some  relief  to  us  against  the  sorrow  we  have  conceived 
for  the  decay  of  them  in  this  Province.  And,  as  the  end  of  all 
learning  is  to  fit  men  to  search  the  Scriptures,  that  thereby  they 
may  come  to  the  saving  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ,  we  make  no 


520  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   doubt  you  will  oblige  the  Rector  to  expound  the  Scriptures  diligently 

1X'    morning  and  evening.     Praying  God  to  direct  and  bless  you  beyond 

Letter  from  what  yourselves  do  understand  or  hope  for,  we  take  leave,  who  are 

Messrs. 

Sewall  and    your  most  humble  servants, 

"  SAMUEL  SEWALL. 
"  ISAAC  ADDINGTON." 

The  date  of  this  letter  is  wanting  in  the  copy,  but  it  must  have 
been  written  about  the  end  of  1700  or  the  beginning  of  1701. 


No.  XXX.  — See  p.  203. 
GOVERNOR  DUDLEY  AND  COTTON  MATHER. 

Governor          «  1712.     May  16th.     Upon  the  President's  inquiring  of  His  Ex- 
Dudley  and 
Cotton         cellency  concerning  the  dutiful  letters  he  had  been  informed  had 

been  written  to  His  Excellency  by  C.  M.,  he  was  pleased  to  assure 
him,  that  he  had  never  received  a  letter  from  him  since  the  undutiful 
one  the  said  C.  M.  had  sent  him  anno  Dom.  1707 ;  which  was  no  small 
surprise  to  the  President,  and  a  further  embarrassing  his  thoughts 
with  respect  to  what  direction  he  should  think  himself  obliged  to 
give,  as  to  inserting  the  new  title,  he,  the  said  C.  M.,  had  lately 
received  from  Glasgow,  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Catalogue  of 
Graduates  to  be  put  out  this  year;  and  for  what  His  Excellency  was 
pleased  to  express  upon  that  matter,  the  President  finds  a  necessity 
of  concerting  the  measures  to  be  taken  upon  that  head  with  the  wise 
and  grave.  Det  Deus  exitum  felicem" 

"  1712.  June.  Upon  a  further  discourse  with  Mr.  Pemberton, 
upon  the  subject-matter  above  written,  the  said  Mr.  Pemberton  had 
a  free  conference  with  His  Excellency,  from  whom  he  reported  to 
the  President,  that  he  would  not  have  the  said  President  to  omit 
inserting  the  title  on  his  account.  Upon  the  whole  of  all  consider- 
ations, the  President  ordered  the  Catalogue  to  be  printed  with  the 
insertion  of  the  title  added  to  the  name  of  C.  M." 

Lcverett's  Manuscript,  p.  43. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  521 

APPENDIX, 
No.  XXX  I. 

No.  XXXI.  —  See  p.  205. 

LETTER  OF  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  EDWARD  HOPKINS'S  LEGACY 
TO  THE  LORD  CHANCELLOR  HARCOURT. 

"  May  it  please  your  Worship, 

"  The  agent  for  Harvard  College,  who  often  attended  your  Lord-   Letter  of 
ship  in  the  cause  of  Mr.  Edward  Hopkins's  charity-legaoy  to  the   tees  of*' 
school  and  College  in  New  England,  has  sent  us  your  Lordship's  Ho^^g 
decree  thereupon,  in  which  your  Lordship  has  honored  us  with  the  legacy  to 
name  of  Trustees,  for  the  improving  and  applying  that  charity  to  the  Chancellor. 
pious  intentions  of  the  testator. 

"  It  is  our  duty  to  acquaint  your  Lordship,  that  the  said  decree  is 
come  to  our  hands  ;  but  we  hold  it  to  be  more  so,  to  admire  and 
acknowledge  your  Lordship's  great  justice  and  wisdom,  which  shine 
through  every  intermediate  order  thereupon,  and  most  illustriously 
so  in  the  final  decree. 

"  Your  Lordship's  own  great  acquirements  are  a  bright  evidence 
of  your  good  affection  for  learning  ;  and  the  injunctions  and  direc- 
tions your  Lordship  has  given  for  the  application  and  disposing  of 
the  charity,  bespeak  your  great  wisdom  for  the  advancement  of  it. 
It  is  by  this,  as  much  as  by  your  justice,  you  have  given  a  more 
lively  countenance  than  ever  it  had,  to  the  first,  and  for  a  long  time, 
only  seminary  of  good  letters  in  these  His  Majesty's  remote  do- 
minions. And  it  is  for  this  we  render  to  your  Lordship  our  thanks, 
with  the  same  ardor  and  sincerity  as  we  acknowledge  the  justice 
and  equity  of  your  Lordship's  decree.  We  pray  your  Lordship  to 
believe,  that  we  will  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost,  that  the  pious 
intentions  of  the  testator,  and  your  Lordship's  wise  and  just  con- 
stitutions and  orders,  may  be  pursued  with  all  possible  diligence, 
faithfulness,  and  integrity,  by, 

*'  May  it  please  your  Lordship, 

"  Your  Lordship's  most  obedient, 

"  Faithful,  humble  servants. 

«  January  25th,  1713." 

Signed  by  Joseph  Dudley  and  all  the  trustees. 


VOL.  i.  66 


522 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XXXII. 


Appoint- 
ment of  Mr. 
White  as 
Treasurer. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

No.  XXXII.— See  p.  207. 
APPOINTMENT  OF  MR.  WHITE  AS  TREASURER. 

"  The  President,  Mr.  Pemberton,  and  Mr.  Flynt,  waited  on  His 
Excellency,  the  Governor,  to  present  the  election  of  Mr.  White  to 
the  Treasurership  of  the  College,  and  for  an  Overseers'  meeting  for 
the  approbation  and  allowance  of  the  vote  of  the  Corporation.  His 
Excellency  was  pleased  to  manifest  his  dissatisfaction  with  what  the 
Corporation  had  done,  directed  us  to  consider  whether  we  would 
insist  on  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  thought  it  would  be  Mr. 
White's  prudence  not  to  accept  of  the  election  of  the  Corporation ; 
but,  if  we  insisted  on  the  Overseers'  meeting,  to  move  him  by  Mr. 
Secretary." 

Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  80. 


Governor 
Shute. 


No.  XXXIII.  — See  p.  208. 
GOVERNOR  SHUTE. 

"  1716.  October  5th.  His  Excellency,  Colonel  Shute,  arrived  at 
Boston,  and  was  there  received  with  great  acclamations.  His  com- 
mission being  read  in  the  Council  Chamber,  the  oaths  were  admin- 
istered to  him,  and  after  this  a  proclamation,  according  to  usage,  for 
all  officers,  civil  and  military,  to  continue  and  act  until  further  order 
was  published." 

"  October  ]5th.  The  Governor  set  out  from  Boston  to  visit  his 
government  of  New  Hampshire,  passing  through  Cambridge.  He 
was  pleased  to  visit  the  College,  and  was  received  by  the  President 
and  Fellows  at  the  gate,  and  by  them  conducted  into  the  Hall, 
where  he  was  saluted  by  Sir  Foxcroft  with  a  Latin  oration,  to  his 
Excellency's  good  acceptance,  and  with  the  just  applause  of  the 
learned  auditory ;  he  went  into  the  Library,  and  after  a  short  view 
and  large  commendation  of  the  place,  and  founders,  and  patrons  of 
it,  with  assurance  of  his  favors  to  the  House,  and  blessings  upon  it, 
he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  the  President  accompanying  His 
Excellency  to  New  Hampshire." 

Leverett's  Manuscript,  p.  117. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  523 

APPENDIX, 
No.  XXXIV. 

No.  XXXIV.  —  See  p.  226. 
LETTER  FROM  COTTON  MATHER  TO  GOVERNOR  SHUTE. 

"  31st  d.  8th  month,  1718. 
"  Sir, 

"  As  in  duty  for  ever  bound,  I  repeat  my  humble  offers  of  service  Letter  from 
to  your  Excellency.     That  if,  at  the  present  session  of  the  General   Bather  to 
Assembly,  there  may  be  any  thing  within  the  small  sphere  of  my   Governor 
activity  to  be  done  for  the  public  (for  I  perceive  your  Excellency 
knows  no  other)  interests,  your  commands  may  be  laid  upon  me. 

"  At  the  same  time  I  will  humbly  tender  to  your  Excellency  my 
poor  sentiments  concerning  some  affairs  of  the  College,  because  I 
am  informed  a  meeting  of  (those  unaccountably  called)  the  Over- 
seers of  the  College  is  this  day  expected. 

"  It  appears  unto  your  servant  a  very  strange  thing,  that,  when  the 
life  and  soul  of  that  society  (in  its  present  feeble  circumstances)  are 
in  your  Excellency's  favorably  looking  upon  it,  and  breathing  into 
it,  there  should  be  so  little  acknowledgment  of  the  dependence,  as 
I  am  informed  there  was,  when  Pierpont  carried  a  message  from 
your  Excellency. 

"  It  appears  a  very  strange  thing,  that,  when  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary,  and  my  Lord  Bellamont,  and  our  General  Assembly 
(many  times  over),  and  Governor  Dudley,  and  all  the  world  besides, 
declared  for  near  twenty  years  together,  that  the  College  had  not 
a  sufficient  charter  to  animate  it,  they  should  now,  by  unseasonable 
challenges  and  presumptions  to  act  as  upon  such  an  one,  make 
their  precarious  conditions  to  be  inquired  into. 

"  It  appears  a  very  strange  thing,  that,  supposing  they  had  all  the 
charter  they  pretend  unto,  they  should  expect  that  the  members  of 
that  society  should  be  exempted  from  the  reach  of  the  laws  of  the 
Province,  and  the  common  law  of  the  nation. 

"  Which  point,  if  it  be  this  day  given  to  those  who  know  very 
well,  that  when  the  utmost  punishments  of  the  College  have  been 
inflicted,  formerly  the  civil  courts  have  taken  after  all  a  cognizance 
of  the  crimes,  it  will  certainly  bring  the  state  of  the  College  into 
the  General  Assembly,  and  then  —  clamor  enough,  be  sure  on't. 

"  For  the  abused  and  oppressed  Pierpont,  when  he  has  done  what 
your  Excellency  may  order  him,  to  have  his  degree  ordered  for  him, 
and  so  the  /?wT^a^o//i/o//«^'«  between  him  and  the  pretended  Presi- 


524 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


Letter  from 
Cotton 
Mather  to 
Governor 
Shute. 


APPENDIX,  dent  brought  to  a  period,  seems  to  be  as  compendious  a  way  as  any 

No.  XXXIV.  •    .   .,  •       ,  .• 

.   to  quiet  these  academical  commotions. 

"  Though  the  College  be  under  a  very  unhappy  government,  yet 
for  my  own  part  I  earnestly  desire,  that  it  may  go  on  as  easily  and 
as  quietly  as  possible.  And  your  Excellency's  incomparable  good- 
ness and  wisdom  will  easily  discern  and  approve  the  intentions  of  the 
freedom  used  in  this  letter,  and  leave  it  and  its  writer  covered  under 
the  darkest  concealment.  And  the  rather,  because  (for  some  reasons) 
I  desire  to  keep  at  the  greatest  distance  imaginable  from  all  the 
affairs  of  Harvard. 

"  With  my  supplications  to  the  glorious  Lord  for  his  blessing  on 
your  Excellency's  person   and  government,  and  your  continuance 
with  an  upright  heart  and  skilful  hand  still  to  govern  us, 
"  I  subscribe,  your  Excellency's 

"  Most  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

"  COTTON  MATHER. 

"  My  aged  parent,  your  Excellency's  most  sincere  servant,  allows 
me  to  write  in  this  manner,  with  'his  most  humble  service.' " 


No.  XXXV.  — See  p.  226. 
LETTER  FROM  COTTON  MATHER  TO  ELIHU  YALE. 


Letter  from 
Cotton 
Mather  to 
Elihu  Yale. 


"  Boston,  New  England,  14/A  d.  llth  month,  1717-18. 
"  Sir, 

"  There  are  those  in  these  parts  of  the  western  India,  who  have 
had  the  satisfaction  to  know  something  of  what  you  have  done  and 
gained  in  the  eastern,  and  they  take  delight  in  the  story.  But  that 
which  has  made  many  of  them  the  more  sensibly  acquainted  with  it, 
is,  their  having  felt  the  testimonies  thereof  in  the  overflowing  liberali- 
ties whereof  you  find  the  objects  on  this  side  of  the  wide  Atlantic. 

"  New  England  values  itself  upon  the  honor  of  being  your  native 
country.  But  you  do  singularly  oblige  as  well  as  honor  it,  in  that, 
although  you  left  it  in  such  an  early  infancy  as  to  be  incapable  of 
remembering  any  thing  in  it,  yet  you  have  been  pleased  on  all  occa- 
sions to  testify  a  good  will  unto  it. 

"  On  one  of  the  meetinghouses  of  another  country,  the  walls  have 
these  words  engraven  on  them  ;  «  Not  for  a  faction  or  a  party,  but 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  525 

for  promoting  faith  and  repentance  in  communion  with  all  that  love   APPENDIX, 

T      ,  T  ~     „,   .  .  ,  NO.  xxxv. 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  New  England  is  now  so  far  improved  as  to  have  the  best  part   Letter  from 
of  two  hundred  meetinghouses.      On  the  walls  whereof  these  agree-   Mather 
able  words  might  be  very  justly  engraved.     And  a  people  so  dis-   yaiel 
posed  cannot  but  be  recommended  above  any  in  the  world  unto  the 
charity,  the  affection,  the  esteem  of  all  Christians,  who  understand 
the  catholic  and  generous  principles  of  Christianity,  and  have  got 
beyond  the  narrow  span  of  a  party.     Your  own  inclinations  to  do 
good,  with  a  view  superior  to  that  of  a  party,  have  not  only  enlarged 
your  character  with  the  best  of  men,  but  also  received  already  (if 
we  are  not  misinformed)  very  conspicuous  recompenses  from  above. 
The  glorious  God,  who  gave  power  to  get  wealth,  and  from  whom 
we  have  received  all  that  we  have,  has  made  us  no  more  than  the 
trustees  of  his  goodness. 

"  The  chief  good  that  we  have  in  our  estates  lies  in  the  good  we 
do  with  them.  And  a  serious  regard  unto  the  account  which  we 
are  to  give  of  our  stewardship,  is  most  certainly  of  such  importance, 
that,  of  them  who  are  strangers  to  it,  it  must  be  said,  What  wisdom 
is  there  in  them  1 

"  The  people  for  whom  we  bespeak  your  favors  are  such  sound, 
generous  Christians  and  Protestants,  that  their  not  observing  some 
disputable  right  (which  no  act  of  Parliament  has  imposed  on  these 
plantations),  ought  by  no  means  to  exclude  them  from  the  respects 
of  all  that  are  indeed  such,  and  from  the  good  will  which  we  all 
owe  to  the  rest  of  the  reformed  churches,  all  of  which  have  their 
little  varieties. 

"  You  have,  Sir,  been  therefore  most  kindly  inquisitive  what  you 
may  do  for  such  a  people.  And  I  will  presume  upon  so  much  of  an 
answer  to  your  noble  inquiries,  as  to  suggest,  riot  what  you  may  do, 
but  whom  you  have  to  do  for. 

"  The  Colony  of  Connecticut,  having  for  some  years  had  a  Col- 
lege at  Saybrook  without  a  collegious  way  of  living  for  it,  have 
lately  begun  to  erect  a  large  edifice  for  it  in  the  town  of  New 
Haven.  The  charge  of  that  expensive  building  is  not  yet  all  paid, 
nor  are  there  yet  any  funds  of  revenues  for  salaries  to  the  Professors 
and  Instructors  to  the  society. 

"  Sir,  though  you  have  your  felicities  in  your  family,  which  I 
pray  God  continue  and  multiply,  yet  certainly,  if  what  is  forming  at 
New  Haven  might  wear  the  name  of  YALE  COLLEGE,  it  would  be 
better  than  a  name  of  sons  and  daughters.  And  your  munificence 


526 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


Mather 
to  Elihu 
Yale. 


APPENDIX,  might  easily  obtain  for  you  such  a  commemoration  and  perpetuation 
;o.  xxxv.  Of  y0ur  vaiuabie  name,  which  would  indeed  be  much  better  than  an 
letter  from  Egyptian  pyramid. 

"  We  have  an  excellent  friend,  our  agent,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Dummer, 
who  -has  been  a  tender,  prudent,  active,  and  useful  patron  of  the 
infant  College  at  Connecticut,  as  well  as  many  other  good  interests, 
and  will  leave  his  memory  precious  with  a  good  people,  and  among 
them  that  survive  him,  for  his  having  so  signally  befriended  it  on  all 
occasions.  He  will  doubtless  wait  upon  you,  and  propose  to  you,  and 
concert  with  you  the  methods  in  which  your  benignity  to  New  Haven 
may  be  best  expressed. 

"  Nor  will  it  be  any  disadvantage  unto  your  person  or  family,  for 
a  good  people  to  make  mention  of  you  in  their  prayers  unto  the 
glorious  Lord,  as  one  who  has  loved  their  nation,  and  supported  and 
strengthened  the  seminary  from  whence  they  expect  the  supply  of  all 
their  synagogues.  But  having  thus  far  presumed  upon  your  good- 
ness, I  shall  presume  no  further,  but,  with  hearty  supplications  to 
Heaven,  that  the  blessings  thereof  may  be  showered  plentifully 
down  upon  you  and  yours, 

"  I  subscribe,  Sir, 
"Your  most  sincere  friend  and  servant, 

"  COTTON  MATHER." 


Letter  from 
Cotton 
Mather  to 
Governor 

Saltonstall. 


No.  XXXVI.  —  See  p.  227. 

LETTER  FROM  COTTON  MATHER  TO  GOVERNOR 
SALTONSTALL. 


"  25th  d.  6th  month,  1718. 


Sir, 


"  'T  is  an  unspeakable  pleasure  unto  me,  that  I  have  been  in  any 
measure  capable  of  serving  so  precious  a  thing  as  your  College  at 
New  Haven. 

"  Governor  Yale  now  gives  you,  a  sensible  proof,  that  he  has 
begun  to  take  it  under  his  patronage  and  protection.  But  I  am 
informed,  that  what  he  now  does  is  very  little  in  proportion  to  what 
he  will  do,  when  once  he  finds,  by  the  name  of  it,  that  it  may  claim 
an  adoption  with  him.  Yale  College  cannot  fail  of  Mr.  Yale's 
generous  and  growing  bounty.  I  confess,  that  it  was  a  great  and 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  527 

inexcusable  presumption  in  me,  to  make  myself  so  far  the  godfather  APPENDIX, 
of  the  beloved  infant  as  to  propose  a  name  for  it.     But  I  assured 
myself,  that  if  a  succession  of  solid  and  lasting  benefits  might  be   Letter  from 
entailed  upon  it  your  Honor  and  the- Honorable  Trustees,   would   Mather  to 
pardon  me,  and  the  proposal  would  be  complied  withal.  Saltonstall. 

"  It  is  a  thousand  pities,  that  the  dear  infant  should  be  in  danger 
of  being  strangled  in  the  birth,  by  a  dissension  of  your  good  people 
about  the  place  where  it  shall  be  nourished  in  the  wilderness.  But 
probably  the  Yalean  assistance  to  New  Haven  will  prove  a  decisive 
circumstance,  which  will  dispose  all  to  an  acquiescence  there. 

"  When  the  servants  of  God  meet  at  your  Commencement,  I  make 
no  doubt,  that,  under  your  Honor's  influences  and  encouragements, 
they  will  make  it  an  opportunity,  in  the  most  serious  and  mature 
manner,  to  deliberate  upon  projections  to  serve  the  great  interests  of 
education,  and  so  of  religion,  both  in  your  College  and  throughout 
your  Colony,  as  well  as  whatever  else  may  advance  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  not  suffer  an  interview  of  your  best  men  to  evaporate  such, 
a  senseless,  useless,  noisy  impertinency ,  as  it  uses  to  do  with  us  at 
Cambridge. 

"  But  I  may  not  presume  on  the  part  of  a  monitor,  with  such  as 
know  much  better  than  myself  what  that  wisdom  is,  that  finds  out 
witty  inventions  for  the  doing  of  good  in  the  world. 

"  I  repeat  my  humble  supplications,  that  our  glorious  Lord  would 
multiply  his  blessings  on  your  honorable  person,  consort,  family,  and 
government ;  and  am, 

"  Your  Honor's  most  sincere  servant, 

"  COTTON  MATHER." 


No.  XXXVII.  —  See  p.  228. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS  OF  THOMAS  HOLL1S  TO 
BENJAMIN   COLMAN. 

"  London,  September  IQth,  1720.       Extracts 
"  Mr.  Dummer,  I  think  your  agent,  sent  for  me  yesterday  to  a 


coffee-house,  said  he  had  a  letter  to  show  me,  mentioning  thanks  for   Jf°H"  *? 

.  .  Benjamin 

my  bounty  to  your  College,  but  had  mislaid  it,  and  acquainted  me   Colman. 

about  a  College,  building  at  New  Haven,  which  he  proposed  to  my 
bounty.     I  could  only  answer,  I  had  not  heard  of  it  before." 


528 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No. 

xxxvrr. 

Extracts 
from  letters 
of  Thomas 
Hollis  to 
Benjamin 
Colman. 


"  London,  February  9th,  1721. 

"  A  few  days  past  Mr.  Dummer  brought  me  a  letter,  dated  July 
4th,  but  no  name  to  it,  which  is  handsomely  worded  ;  recommend- 
ing to  me  the  collegiate  school  at  New  Haven,  inclosed  in  one  to 
him,  dated  the  3d  September,  from  Mr.  G.  Saltonstall,  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  earnestly  pressing  the  same  affair.  I  have  answered 
Mr.  Dummer,  that,  as  I  am  projecting  some  things  in  Harvard  Col- 
lege, until  I  have  finished,  I  think  not  to  take  his  case  into  con- 
sideration. He  being  a  man  in  a  public  character,  I  care  not  for  free 
conversation  with  him.  He  tells  me  he  has  £  300  sterling  for  being 
your  agent,  .£100  for  the  other,  and  .£50  per  annum,  well  paid, 
for  a  third.  But  what  does  he  do  of  service  for  all  this  money? 
And  what  does  he  do  with  it  ?  perhaps  is  a  harder  question." 


Extracts 
from  let- 
ters of 
Thomas 
Hollis  to 
John 
White. 


See  p.  228. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS  OF  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO  JOHN 
WHITE,  TREASURER  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE. 

"  London,  July  12/A,  1721. 

"  I  have  now  another  letter,  anonymous,  about  Yale  College. 
I  know  not  the  man,  but  suppose  him  to  be  urged  on  to  it  by  your 
agent,  Dummer.  I  inclose  it  you.  I  have  no  inclination  to  be 
diverted  from  my  projected  design.  If  you  know  the  author,  pray 
let  him  know  so.  I  have  told  Dummer  the  same." 

"  London,  August  4<A,  1721. 

"  I  have  another  letter  by  this  ship  from  Yale  College,  by  some 
person,  who  says  he  chooses  to  remain  incog.,  and  so  I  must  let  him 
remain.  I  suppose  your  agent,  Dummer,  stirs  him  up." 


No.  XXXVIII.  — Seep.  229. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO 
BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 


Extract 
from  a 
letter  of 

Thomas 
Hollis  to 
Benjamin 

Colman.        Church,  in  Boston  (I  think  it  is  called),  to  help  furnish  a  library 


"  January  27th,  1726  -  7. 

"  I  am  this  day  applied  unto,  at  the  N.  E.  coffee-house,  by  Mr. 
Oliver,  in  a  letter  he  showed  me  from  Mr.  Prince,  of  the  South 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  529 

for  their  private  use;  using  this  as  a  motive,  we  did  not  know  what  APPENDIX, 

hands  the  great  library  at  Harvard  College  might  fall  into,  but  this  xxxvm. 

private  one  would  be  secure  to  posterity.     I   was  disgusted  at  the    • 

suggestion,  and  refused  to  read  on,  and  bid  him  write  Mr.  Prince 
word,  I  disliked  his  motion,  and  would  not  be  concerned  " 


No.  XXXIX.  —  See  p.  231. 
BENEFACTORS  OF  THE  NAME  OF  HOLLIS. 

Three  of  these  six  benefactors  bore  the  name  of  Thomas ;   the   Benefac- 
others,  respectively,  of  John,  Nathaniel,  and  Timothy.     The  first  name  Of 
Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  John  were  brothers.     The  second  Thomas  HoUis- 
was  the  son  of  Nathaniel,  and  heir  of  his  uncle,  the  first  Thomas. 
The  third  Thomas  was  son  of  the  second,  and  heir  of  his  grand- 
father, Nathaniel  Hollis,   and  of  his  father.     Timothy  was  the  son 
of  John.     Of  these,  the  first-named  Thomas  Hollis  was  the  earliest 
and  greatest  benefactor  to  Harvard  College. 


No.  XL.  — See  p.  238. 
LETTER  FROM  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO  BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 

"  London,  September  IQth,  1720.        Letter  from 

"  This  gives  me  occasion  to  inquire  of  you,  dear  Sir,  whether  this  Hollis  to 
Assembly  your  letter  comes  from,  will  have  a  vote  in  the  nomination 
of  students  to  share  in  my  bounty,  or  if  it  will  remain  as  I  proposed, 
by  your  advice,  in  the  President  and  five  Governors  of  the  Corpora- 
tion and  their  successors,  to  nominate  the  persons  that  shall  have 
my  designed  annual  gift,  after  my  decease." 


No.  XLI.  —  See  p.  239. 

LETTER  FROM  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO  PRESIDENT  LEVERETT 
AND  BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 


"  London,  September  23rf,  1720. 

"  Your  new  proposal,  of  a  suitable  stipend  for  a  Divinity  Professor 
to  read  lectures  in  the  Hall  to  the  students,  surprises  roe.     I  could 

VOL.  i.  67 


530  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   not  have  thought,   but,   in  the  standing  of  your  College,  you  had 

1  °'    L  '      made  such  provision  long  since ;  however,  if  not,  or  if  I  mistake 

your  meaning,  I  desire  you,  at  convenient  time,  to  explain  more 

largely  that  matter  to  me,  and  to  tell  me  how  much  will  be  called  an 

honorable  stipend." 


No.  XLII.  — See  p.  239. 

HOLLIS'S  ORDERS. 

"ORDERS  MADE  BY  ME,  THOMAS  HOLLIS,  OF  LONDON,  MERCHANT, 
FEBRUARY  14TH,  1720-1, 

Hollis's  "  Concerning  the  disposition  of  certain  sums  of  money,  by  me 

sent  over  to  New  England,  and  already  paid  or  ordered  to  be  paid 
to  Mr.  John  White,  Treasurer  to  Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge, 
in  New  England,  subject  to  such  alterations  as  may  be  made  by  me 
in  my  lifetime,  or  by  my  last  will. 

"  I  order  such  sums  of  money  as  are  already  paid  to  Mr.  John 
White,  Treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  or  that  shall  be  paid  to  him 
by  my  order  in  my  lifetime,  or  by  my  executrix,  according  to  my 
last  will,  be  placed  out  at  interest,  or  laid  out  in  good  securities, 
and  the  produce  thereof  to  be  applied  in  a  manner  I  do  here  direct. 

"  /  order  and  appoint  a  Professor  of  Divinity,  to  read  lectures 
in  the  Hall  of  the  College  unto  the  students;  the  said  Professor  to 
be  nominated  and  appointed  from  time  to  time  by  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  and  that  the  Treasurer  pay  to  him 
forty  pounds  per  annum,  for  his  service,  and  that  when  choice  is 
made  of  a  jitting  person,  to  be  recommended  to  me  for  my  approba- 
tion, if  I  be  yet  living. 

"  I  order  and  appoint  five  pounds  a  year  to  the  Treasurer,  for  the 
time  being,  for  his  pains  in  receiving  and  paying  my  bounty,  and 
making  up  an  annual  account  at  every  annual  audit  day,  for  the 
said  College,  and  the  balance  to  be  carried  forward  to  a  new 
account. 

"  I  order  and  appoint  the  whole  of  the  remaining  annual  increase 
to  be  disposed  of  as  follows.  Ten  pounds  a  year  for  one  exhibition, 
to  assist  one  pious  young  man,  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  religiously 
inclined,  in  his  studies  for  the  minislry  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ; 
one  who  is  poor  in  this  world,  and  cannot  comfortably  go  forwards 
without  such  charitable  helps,  for  three  or  four  years,  and  he  be- 
having himself  well,  to  be  yearly  paid  to  him  by  the  Treasurer ;  and 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  531 

that  so  many  students  be  nominated,  and  exhibitions  be  granted,  APPENDIX. 
and  paid,  as  the  annual  income  will  bear,  by  even,  equal  sums  often  _No>  X^LII1 
pounds  a  year  for  every  one,  and  this  ordinance  to  be  for  ever.  Hollis's 

J  J  Orders. 

"  While  I  live,  I  reserve  the  nomination  of  the  students  to  myself, 
intreating  the  governors  of  the  College  to  present  names  of  persons 
and  their  qualifications  to  me  for  approbation.  Upon  my  decease, 
I  do  appoint  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  of 
Cambridge,  in  New  England,  and  their  successors  for  ever,  to  have 
the  nomination  of  the  students  that  shall  receive  the  said  exhibitions 
of  ten  pounds  a  year  apiece,  for  the  time  aforesaid,  and  that  as  any 
one  dies,  or  is  turned  out,  or  goes  off  in  his  course,  another  be 
placed  in  his  room,  and  that  none  be  refused  on  account  of  his  belief 
and  practice  of  adult  baptism,  if  he  be  sober  and  religiously  in- 
clined. And  I  recommend,  in  a  special  manner,  to  avoid  nomi- 
nating any  dunces  or  rakes,  as  not  fit  to  partake  of  this  bounty. 

"  I  order  a  register  to  be  kept  of  such  as  are  taken  in  upon  this 
foundation,  their  names,  ages,  times  of  entrance,  for  how  long  time, 
and  when  they  go  off. 

"  I  order  a  fair  account  to  be  kept  of  receipts  and  payments  of 
this  my  devoted  trust,  and  annually  balanced ;  the  whole  design 
hereof  being  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  precious  souls. 

"  May  the  blessed  Lord  accept  and  succeed  it.  Amen.  So  prays 

"  THOMAS  HOLLIS." 


No.  XLIII.  —  See  p.  242. 

MINUTES  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  THE  CORPORATION  TO 
THOMAS  HOLLIS. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  College,  in  Boston,   Minutes  of 
at  Mr.  Treasurer  White's  lodgings,  April  25th,  1721.  frim'the 

"  The  President  and  Mr.  Colman  read  a  letter  from  Mr.  Thomas  Corpora- 
tion to 
Hollis,  of  London,  to  them ;  and  Mr.   Colman   a  letter  from   Mr.   Thomas 

Neal,  of  London,  written  to  him  by  the  direction  of  the  said  Mr. 
Hollis,  relating  to  the  setting  up  a  Professor  of  Divinity  at  the  Col- 
lege, and  desiring  some  further  advice  and  information  in  that  affair. 
"  Voted,  That  Mr.  Wadsworth  and  Mr.  Colman  be  a  committee  to 
prepare  and  lay  before  the  Corporation  a  draught  of  such  informa- 
tion at  their  next  meeting,  in  order  to  its  being  forwarded." 

Corporation  Records,  Vol.  II.  p.  70. 


532 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XLIII. 

Minutes  of 
a  letter 
from  the 
Corpora- 
tion to 
Thomas 
Hollis. 


"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  at  Mr.  Treasurer  White's 
lodgings,  Boston,  May  2d,  1721. 

"  Mr.  Wadsworth  and  Mr.  Colman  offered  to  the  Corporation  a 
draught  of  further  information  respecting  the  affair  of  a  Professor 
of  Divinity,  as  they  were  requested  the  last  meeting,  which  was 
read  and  accepted. 

"  Voted,  To  be  transmitted  to  Mr.  Hollis  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Neal." 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College 
at  the  President's  House  in  Cambridge,  June  21st,  1721. 

"  Minutes  directory  in  answer  to  Mr.  Hollis  his  letters. 

"  Voted,   1.  To  acknowledge  with  thankfulness  his  last  bounty. 

"  2.  To  acknowledge  his  candor  and  confidence  in  leaving  his 
institutions  open  and  alterable,  and  referring  them  to  our  considera- 
tion and  approbation. 

"  3.  As  to  the  Professor,  we  refer  to  what  has  been  already 
written  to  Mr.  Hollis ;  and  further  propose  to  offer  it  to  his  con- 
sideration, whether  the  Professor  should  not  be  wholly  his  own,  by 
transferring  four  of  the  Exhibitions  to  the  Professorship ;  yet  re- 
ferring the  matter  to  his  determination. 

"  4.  As  to  what  refers  to  the  Treasurer,  we  thankfully  acquiesce. 

"  5.  As  to  the  investing  his  donation  in  land  at  five  per  cent.  That 
we  have  no  present  prospect  of  doing  to  the  advantage  proposed, 
but  shall  be  ready  to  embrace  an  opportunity  whenever  it  shall  offer, 
and  advise  him  accordingly. 

"  6.  As  to  what  he  proposes  of  the  General  Court's  confirming  such 
land  as  his  gift  to  the  uses  and  designs  directed,  to  refer  to  a  clause 
in  the  charter  to  be  transcribed  and  sent  to  him. 

"7.  As  to  the  extending  the  time  of  his  Exhibitions,  we  agree 
to  it. 

"  8.  The  Professor's  lectures  are  free  to  the  society. 

"  9.  That  the  students  of  his  foundation  will  be  readily  favored, 
as  there  is  occasion,  and  one  is  already. 

"  10.  As  to  the  Professor's  being  in  communion  with  a  particular 
church,  we  judge  it  highly  fitting ;  and,  as  to  the  limitation,  we  leave 
it  to  himself. 

"11.  As  to  the  Professor's  being  chosen  anew  every  third,  fifth,  or 
seventh  year,  we  choose  the  fifth." 

Ibid.,  p.  71. 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  533 

APPENDIX, 
No.  XLTV. 

No.  XLIV.  —  See  p.  243. 
ELECTION  OF  PROFESSOR  WIGGLESWORTH. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  Election  of 
at  the  President's  house,  in  Cambridge,  June  28th,  1721.  WiS" 

"  Present,  the  President,  Mr.  Colman,  Mr.  Flynt,  Mr.  Stevens,  worth- 
Mr.  Appleton,  Mr.  Treasurer.  The  Corporation  being  informed  of 
ships  being  ready  to  sail  for  London,  by  which  it  would  be  requisite 
to  send  answers  to  Mr.  Hollis's  letters ;  and  particularly  upon  his 
instituting  a  Professor  of  Divinity ;  the  question  was  put,  Whether 
a  person  should  now  be  elected,  in  order  to  be  presented  to  Mr. 
Hollis  for  his  approbation  to  be  a  Professor  of  Divinity  upon  his 
institution  1  It  was  agreed  and  voted  in  the  affirmative.  Accord- 
ingly the  Fellows,  met  in  Corporation,  were  desired  to  bring  in 
their  votes  in  writing  for  the  election  of  a  Professor  of  Divinity, 
in  order  to  be  presented  to  Mr.  Hollis  for  his  approbation.  And 
they  did  so.  Upon  numbering  the  votes,  Mr.  Edward  Wigglesworth 
was  chosen  Professor  of  Divinity,  and  accordingly  so  declared. 
Mr.  Wigglesworth's  name  was  sent  to  Mr.  Hollis  in  the  letter  signed 

by  the  President  and  Mr.  Colman." 

Corporation  Records,  p.  72. 


No.  XL V.  — See  pp.  244,  247. 

LETTER  FROM  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO  BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 

"London,  August  8th,  1721. 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  dated  April  5th,  on  the  5th  of  June,   Letterfrom 
and  your  letter  and  scheme  signed  by  you  and  Mr.  President,  dated   Hollis  to 
May  5th,  on  the  5th  of  July,  the  night  after  I  had  put  mine  for  Mr. 
Treasurer  into   the   bag ;    and   now  again   three  letters  from  you 
together,  by  Captain  Letherid,  August  2d,  dated  June  6th,  19th, 
and  26th,  the  last  signed  by  you  and  Mr.  John  Leverett. 

#  #  #  #  # 

"  I  beseech  you  to  encourage  Baptist  students  equally  with  Pa?do- 
baptists.  I  am  persuaded  it  will  promote  true  religion,  and  tend  to 
the  peace  of  the  churches  of  both  denominations  while  I  live,  and 


534 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,   them  that  follow.     What  I  write  herein,  pray  communicate  to  Mr. 
'_   President  Leverett;  and  give  my  humble  service  to  him,  and  to  all 

Letter  from   tne  Fellows  of  the  College,  who  are  concerned  kindly  in  this  affair. 

Thomas  * 

Hollis  to       I  am  mightily  pleased  with  the  character  you  give  of  the  gentleman 

Colman.  whom  you  have  proposed  to  be  my  first  Professor,  and  have  him 
under  my  consideration.  But  I  am^hmking,  whether  I  am  yet  ripe 
for  a  nomination,  my  adventures  not  being  yet  entered  into  your 
Treasurer's  cash,  and,  after  that  they  are,  must  be  placed  out  to 
improvement,  to  produce  the  designed  maintenance  for  the  one  and 
the  other  purpose  ;  so  that,  if  I  proceed  presently  to  nominate,  as 
your  letter  urges  me  to  do,  he  must  be  straitened,  or  he  must  break 
in  upon  the  principal,  neither  of  which  is  agreeable  to  rne  at  this 
writing. 

"  I  also  desire  to  know  if  this  gentleman  be  in  actual  communion 
with  some  Christian  church,  as  I  formerly  hinted,  and  with  whom  1 
In  reference  to  your  scheme  for  the  Professor's  tcork,  on  due  con- 
sideration, I  think  it  requires  some  amendments.  I  give  thanks  to 
Mr.  Wadsvvorth  for  his  paper,  and  to  Mr.  President,  and  to  you,  for 
yours ;  it  is  a  foundation  to  work  upon ;  and  I  have  consulted 
several  worthy  pastors  of  churches  here,  who  have  studied  abroad, 
as  at  Edinburgh,  Utrecht,  Leyden,  and  are  acquainted  with  the 
Professors  of  Divinity's  work  there.  And  these  gentlemen  express 
a  great  respect  and  concern  for  your  University,  and  would  willingly 
lend  any  advice  they  can  for  your  advantage.  /  have  desired  them 
to  make  some  little  alterations  in  your  scheme,  and  some  remarks  as 
their  reasons  for  so  doing,  which,  when  finished,  I  shall  send  unto 
you  for  your  more  mature  consideration;  believing  you  and  they 
have  nothing  in  view  herein,  but  furthering  of  the  glory  of  God, 
promoting  good  literature,  and  the  true  knowledge  of  theology,  well 
understanding  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  May  the  Lord,  the  Spirit 
of  truth,  say,  Amen." 


No.  XLVL  — See  p.  248. 

'•'  RULES  AND  ORDERS   PROPOSED   RELATING   TO  A  DIVINITY 
PROFESSOR  IN  HARVARD  COLLEGE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

"  1.  That  the  Professor  be  a  Master  of  Arts,  and  in  communion 
with  some  Christian  church,  of  one  of  the  three  denominations, 
Congregational,  Presbyterian,  or  Baptist. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  535 

"  N.  B.  This  agrees  with  the  scheme  which  was  sent  from  New  APPENDIX, 

England,  approved  by  the  Reverend  the  President,  and  the  Corpo-  No-  XLVI- 

ration.  Rules  and 

orders  re- 

"2.  That  his  province  be  to  instruct  the  students  in  the  several  latingto  the 

parts  of  theology,  by  reading  a  system  of  positive,  and  a  course  of  °        r 


controversial  divinity,  beginning  always  with  a  short  prayer.  Divinity. 

"  We  apprehend  this  article  to  be  of  the  last  importance.  The 
want  of  a  Professor,  whose  only  work  shall  be,  to  make  the  students 
masters  of  Divinity,  is  justly  complained  of  in  our  Universities,  and 
wisely  rectified  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  all  the  foreign 
Universities  we  are  acquainted  with.  It  will  consequently  turn  to 
the  great  advantage  of  the  students  to  be  thus  regularly  instructed 
in  the  several  parts  of  theology  without  intermission,  after  they  have 
been  three  or  four  years  in  the  College.  And  we  are  apprehensive 
it  will  become  very  easy  to  the  Professor  after  he  has  sat  in  his  chair 
a  year  or  two. 

"  3.  That  the  said  Professor  read  his  private  lectures  of  positive 
and  controversial  divinity  so  many  times  in  the  week  as  shall  finish 
both  courses  within  the  term  of  one  year. 

"  The  Professors  in  the  Universities  of  Holland  read  four  times  a 
week  on  a  system,  and  four  times  a  week  on  the  controversies,  each 
lecture  not  exceeding  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  The  first  quarter 
is  spent  in  examining  the  students  on  the  heads  of  the  last  lecture, 
then  the  Professor  proceeds  ;  always  taking  care  to  finish  both  his 
system,  and  course  of  controversial  divinity,  within  the  compass  of 
a  year. 

"  An  hour  in  the  morning  is  generally  employed  in  the  system,  on 
Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Fridays,  and  an  hour  on  the 
same  days  in  the  afternoon  in  the  controversies,  by  which  means  the 
Professors  have  two  days  in  the  week  entire  to  themselves;  and  by 
finishing  all  in  one  year  an  opportunity  is  given  for  new  students  to 
enter  every  year,  and  the  Seniors  may  go  over  the  course  with  the 
Professor  two  or  three  times,  which  will  be  of  great  advantage  ;  nor 
will  this  be  at  all  difficult  to  the  Professor,  when  he  has  gone  over 
it  once  or  twice. 

"  4.  That  the  Professor  read  publicly  twice  a  week  in  the  Hall, 
on  Church  History,  Jewish  Antiquities,  Cases  of  Conscience,  or 
critical  exposition  of  Scripture,  as  he  shall  judge  proper,  times  of 
vacation  always  excepted. 

"  This  agrees  with  the  New  England  scheme. 

"  We  conceive,  that  though  it  is  impossible  these  public  lectures 


536  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  should  answer  the  ends  of  regular  instruction,  which  is  the  most 
JVo.  XLVI.  necessary  t0  make  the  students  masters  of  theology,  and  fit  them  for 
Rules  and  the  pulpit,  or  the  chair,  any  more  than  the  preaching  two  sermons 

orders  re- 
lating to  the    weekly  in  the  pulpit  can  be  thought  sufficient  to  fit  all  the  hearers  for 

lessor  of  the  pulpit ;  yet,  since  they  are  performed  in  all  our  Universities,  they 
Divinity.  are  noj.  to  [je  omitted.  Give  us  leave,  however,  to  observe  to  you,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  several  Universities  we  have  had  any  knowledge 
of  have  laid  the  strictest  injunctions  on  the  Professors  to  study  these 
lectures,  yet  in  some  time  they  have  been  generally  neglected,  and 
have  dwindled  into  little  else  than  form.  We  take  the  liberty  to 
mention  critical  exposition  of  Scripture,  Church  History,  Jewish 
Antiquities,  that  the  Professor  may  give  to  the  students  of  Divinity 
as  large  and  extensive  a  view  as  can  be  of  every  part  of  learning, 
which  is  proper  to  enter  into  the  character  of  a  finished  divine. 

"5.  That  the  Professor  set  apart  two  or  three  hours,  one  after- 
noon in  the  week,  to  answer  such  questions  of  the  students  who 
shall  apply  to  him,  as  refer  to  the  system  or  controversies  of  religion, 
or  cases  of  conscience,  or  seeming  contradictions  in  Scripture., 
And  this  agrees  to  the  New  England  scheme.  And  we  are  in- 
formed the  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Edinburgh  allows  two  or  three 
hours  every  Thursday  in  the  afternoon  to  this  work  ;  times  of  vaca- 
tion excepted. 

"  6.  That  the  Professor  of  Divinity,  while  in  that  office,  shall  not 
be  a  Tutor  in  any  other  science,  or  obliged  to  any  other  attendance 
in  the  College  than  the  abovementioned  public  and  private  lectures. 

"  This  will  make  the  Professor's  work  as  easy  at  least,  if  not  more 
easy  than  the  rest  of  the  Tutors'. 

"  7.  That  the  Professor  read  his  private  lectures  to  such  only  as 
are  at  least  of  two  years'  standing  in  the  College. 

"  This  is  intended  to  remedy  an  evil  too  common  in  most  places. 
When  students,  upon  their  first  coming  to  the  University,  are  en- 
couraged to  enter  on  the  study  of  Divinity,  they  neglect  all  pre- 
paratory studies,  and  very  often  enter  on  the  sacred  ministry  before 
they  are  qualified ;  whereas,  by  keeping  them  from  the  constant 
and  regular  study  of  theology  for  the  first  two  or  three  years,  you 
employ  them  necessarily  in  other  parts  of  literature,  and  effectually 
prevent  their  going  into  the  pulpit  till  they  are  at  least  of  four  years' 
standing.  'T  is  not  intended,  by  this  article,  to  debar  the  students 
of  Divinity  from  attending  on  any  of  the  lectures  of  other  Tutors, 
but  only  that  they  now  begin  to  make  theology  their  chief  study. 

"  8.  That,  an  honorable  salary  being  provided  for  the  Professor, 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  537 

it  is  expected  that  he  require  no  fee  from  any  of  the  students  for  APPENDIX, 

their  instruction.  NO.  XLVI. 

"  This  agrees  with  the  New  England  scheme.     But,  if  any  sen-  Ru,les  a™1 

°  .        .  orders  re- 

tleman  desires  his  son  may  run  through  a  course  of  Divinity,  it  does   latingtothe 

not  hinder  the  parent  from  making  the  Professor  a  present,  though  fessor  Of 
the  Professor  is  debarred  from  requiring  any  thing  of  such  person.       Divinity. 

"  9.  That  the  said  Professor  be  chosen  every  five  years  by  the 
Reverend  President  and  Fellows  of  the  College,  for  the  time  being, 
and  be  presented  by  them,  when  chosen,  to  the  Honorable  and 
Reverend  Overseers,  to  be  by  them  approved  and  confirmed  in  his 
place. 

"  This  agrees  with  the  New  England  scheme. 

"  10.  That  the  said  Professor  be  at  all  times  under  the  inspection 
of  the  Reverend  the  President  and  Fellows,  with  the  Honorable 
and  Reverend  the  Overseers  for  the  time  being,  to  be  by  them  dis- 
placed for  any  just  and  valuable  cause. 

"  This  agrees  with  the  New  England  scheme. 

"11.  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  electors,  that  at  every  choice 
they  prefer  a  man  of  solid  learning  in  Divinity,  of  sound  and  ortho- 
dox principles ;  one  who  is  well  gifted  to  teach,  of  a  sober  and  pious 
life,  and  of  a  grave  conversation. 

"  These  rules  and  orders  relating  to  a  Divinity  Professor  in  Har- 
vard College,  in  New  England,  were  drawn  up  at  the  request  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Hollis,  and  are  unanimously  recommended  by  us,  as 

necessary  to  answer  his  useful  design. 

"  DANIEL  NEAL. 

W.  HARRIS. 
JER.  HUNT. 

JOSH.  OLDFIELD,  D.  D. 
MOSES  LOWMAN. 
EDW.  WALLIN. 
ARTHUR  SHALLET. 
"  London,  August  22rf,  1721." 


No.  XLVIL  — See  p.  249. 

FORM  FOR  THE  INAUGURATION  OF  THE  HOLLIS  PROFESSOR 
OF  DIVINITY. 

Previously  to  acceding  to  the  eleven  preceding  articles,  recom- 
mended by  the  seven  pastors,  Mr.  Hollis  caused  the  following  to 
be  subjoined  to  them. 

VOL.  i.  68 


538 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.XLVIF. 

Form  for 
the  inaugu- 
ration of  the 
Hollis  Pro- 
fessor of 
Divinity. 


"  Plan  or  form  for  the  Professor  of  Divinity  to  agree  to  at  his 
inauguration. 

"  That  he  repeat  his  oaths  to  the  civil  government ;  that  he  de- 
clare it  as  his  belief,  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  and  most  perfect  rule 
of  faith  and  practice;  and  that  he  promise  to  explain  and  open  the 
Scriptures  to  his  pupils  with  integrity  and  faithfulness,  according  to 
the  best  light  that  God  shall  give  him.  That  he  promise  to  promote 
true  piety  and  godliness  by  his  example  and  instruction  ;  that  he 
consult  the  good  of  the  College,  and  the  peace  of  the  churches,  on 
all  occasions;  and  that  he  religiously  observe  the  statutes  of  his 
founder." 

As  the  Overseers  afterwards  inserted,  instead  of  "  the  Bible,"  the 
words  "  the  Old  and  New  Testament,"  these  are  given  in  the  text; 
but  the  above  were  the  terms  used  by  Hollis  in  his  first  draft  of  this 
form. 


No.  XLVIII.  — See  p.  250. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  OVERSEERS  RESPECTING   HOLLIS'S 
RULES  AND  ORDERS. 


Proceed- 
ings of  the 
Overseers 
respecting 
Hollis's 
rules  and 
orders. 


"At  an  Overseers' meeting  in  Boston,  January  10th,  1721-2. 
The  President  and  Fellows  of  the  College  having  this  day  laid 
before  the  Overseers  the  pious  and  generous  proposal  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Hollis,  of  London,  merchant,  for  the  establishing  and  endowing  a 
resident  Professor  of  Divinity  of  the  said  College,  as  also  a  draught 
of  rules  and  orders  relating  to  the  said  Professor,  signed  by  Mr. 
Hollis  himself; 

"  It  was  unanimously  voted,  that  a  letter  of  thanks  be  sent  to  the 
said  Mr.  Hollis,  as  for  his  great  bounty  in  general  to  the  College,  so 
in  special  for  his  most  kind  offer  with  respect  to  a  Professor  of 
Divinity,  and  that  Mr.  Wadsworth  and  Mr.  Colman  draw  up  said 
letter  and  send  it.  Then  the  Overseers  took  into  their  most  serious 
consideration  the  matter  of  a  Professor  of  Divinity  in  general,  and, 
after  some  debate,  unanimously  resolved,  that  the  establishing  a 
Professor  of  Divinity  at  the  said  College,  under  proper  regulations, 
will,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  very  much  conduce  to  the  advancement 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  539 

of  theology  among  the  students  there,  to  promote  the  interest  of  the   APPENDIX, 
true  Christian  religion  throughout  the  whole  land,  and  therein  very      °'  _  ' 


much   answer  the  great  and   pious  end  of  incorporating  the  said 

College.     The  President  continuing  his  theological  expositions  and   Overseer, 
i    i      n-i  i     •     •  i     •  M      respecting 

exercises,  and  the  1  utors  their  instructions  in  Divinity  to  their  pupils   Hoilis's 

as  formerly.  -^ 

"  The  next  thing,  proposed  for  consideration,  was  the  rules  and 
orders  relating  to  the  Professor,  signed  by  Mr.  Hollis.  The  qualifi- 
cations and  regulations  of  the  said  Professor  being  a  matter  of  very 
great  importance  to  the  religion  of  New  England,  the  founder  him- 
self also  having  been  pleased,  in  his  own  letter  to  the  Corporation, 
to  desire  them  duly  to  consider  of  the  said  rules  and  orders,  and 
send  over  such  needful  amendments  as  should  be  thought  fit; 

"  The  eleven  rules  and  orders  being  distinctly  read  over  and 
severally  debated  on,  the  Overseers  did  accept  the  first,  the  second, 
the  third,  the  fourth  with  this  alteration,  after  the  word  publicly,  — 
'  once  a  week  upon  Divinity,  either  positive,  controversial,  or  casuis- 
tical, and  as  often  upon  Church  History,  critical  exposition  of  Scrip- 
ture, or  Jewish  Antiquities,  as  the  Corporation,  with  the  approbation 
of  the  Overseers,  shall  judge  Jit.'  The  fifth,  the  sixth,  the  seventh, 
the  eighth,  the  ninth,  the  tenth,  the  eleventh,  with  this  alteration, 
that,  instead  of  the  words  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  electors,  that 
at  every  choice  they  prefer,  put  in  '  that  the  person  chosen  from  time 
to  time  to  be  a  Professor,  be,'  &c. 

"  The  plan  of  a  form  for  the  Professor  of  Divinity  to  agree  to  at 
his  inauguration  was  accepted  with  these  alterations,  viz.  instead  of 
Bible  is  say  '  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are,'  and 
after  the  word  only  blot  out  and  most. 

"  In  the  last  article  but  one,  to  the  word  churches  add  '  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.'  In  the  last  article  subjoin  to  the  close  of  it,  '  and  all 
such  other  statutes  and  orders  as  shall  be  made  by  the  College  not 
repugnant  thereunto.' 

"  The  Overseers  then  adjourned  to  Wednesday,  the  24th  current, 
at  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon." 

Records  of  the  Overseers,  Vol.  I.  p.  21. 


540 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  XLIX. 


No.  XLIX.  — See  p.  261. 


Extract 
from  a 
letter  of 
Thomas 
Hollis  to 
Benjamin 
Colman. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO 
BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 

"  London,  March  18th,  1722-3. 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  His  Excellency,  your  Governor,  with  his  two  brothers,  Lord  Bar- 

rington,  and Bendish,  Esqr.,  with  Mr.  Neal  and  Mr.  Hunt,  did 

me  the  honor  to  come  and  dine  at  my  house,  March  16th,  and  after 
dinner  we  read  over  your  letter,  and  debated  the  President  Leverett's 
answer  to  the  writing  obligatory  I  had  demanded  under  the  seal  of 
the  Corporation,  "  that,  upon  second  thoughts,  they  could  not  find 
how  to  bind  themselves  faster  than  they  are  already,  in  justice,"  &c. 

"  Their  unanimous  advice  was,  that  I  should  insist  on  it,  to  have 
such  an  obligation  as  strong  as  may  be,  according  to  your  promise 
in  former  letters  I  should  have  ;  that  in  all  times  coming  the  Cor- 
poration will  perform  my  trust  in  manner  appointed  by  my  orders, 
and  not  divert  the  moneys  devoted,  principal  or  increase,  to  any 
other  uses ;  and,  in  case  of  default  hereof  to  my  mind,  that  then  by 

the  power  I  have  reserved  to  myself,  I  may  devise  it  over  to 

for  other  uses  discoursed  of ,  which,  if  you  ask  your  Gov- 
ernor at  his  return,  he  will  tell  you  more  largely. 

"  I  am  of  opinion,  when  you  have  received  the  letters  sent  you  as 
above  mentioned,  your  Corporation  will  come  into  it,  to  send  me  an 
obligation  as  desired,  without  waiting  for  a  copy  of  a  draft  from  me. 
If  I  do  not  think  it  full  enough,  I  may  alter  it  and  return  it ;  and  it 
will  not  be  prudent  for  you  to  delay  it;  for,  though  I  think  I  have 
sent  enough  by  Osbo/ne,  if  it  arrive  safe,  to  answer  all  I  have  as  yet 
appointed,  yet  more  was  designed,  as  I  hinted,  in  my  will.  But 
that  is  as  yet  in  my  own  power  to  alter,  if  I  may  not  be  gratified  in 
this." 


Resident 
fellows. 


No.  L.— See  p.  274. 
RESIDENT  FELLOWS. 

"  Anno  Dom.  1666.     It  is  ordered  by  the  Overseers,  that  such  as 
are  fellows  of  the  College,  and  have  salaries  paid  them  out  of  the 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  541 

Treasury,  shall  have  their  constant  residence  in  the  College,  and  APPENDIX, 

shall  lodge  therein,  and  be  present  with  the  scholars  at  meal  times 

in  the  Hall,  have  their  studies  in  the  College,  that  so  they  may  be  Resident 

better  enabled  to  inspect  the  manners  of  the  scholars,  and  prevent 

all  unnecessary  damage  to  the  society." 

College  Book,  No.  III.  p.  25. 


No.  LI.  — See  p.  283. 

LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  LEVERETT  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

"To  the  Honorable  Timothy  Lyndall,  Esquire,  Speaker  of  the  Letter  from 
Honorable  the  House  of  Representatives,  Boston.  Leveret" 

to  the 

"  Cambridge,  December  6th,  1720.        gouse  of 
tt  »/r      o        i          cv  Represent- 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  bir,  atives. 

"  This  is  the  session  you  are  wont  to  consider  the  subsistence  and 
supports  of  your  servants ;  and,  though  I  have  not  the  least  appre- 
hension you  will  forget  that  I  have  the  honor  to  be  numbered  among 
them,  yet  I  should  neglect  my  duty  both  to  you  and  myself,  if  I 
should  not  inform  you,  and  pray  you  to  intimate  to  the  Honorable 
House, 

"  1.  That  the  demolition  in  part,  and  the  removal  of  the  remains, 
of  the  President's  house,  have  deprived  me  of  that  part  of  subsistence, 
which  has  been  always  provided  by  the  country  for  all  the  Presidents 
of  the  College,  which  even  non-resident  Presidents  for  ever  have 
had  the  benefit  of. 

"  2.  That  what  accrued  from  the  disposal  of  that  house  was  im- 
proved in  yon  noble  additional  building. 

"3.  That  above  twenty  pounds  of  my  own  money,  disbursed  to 
make  the  President's  house  of  any  significant  advantage  to  me  when 
I  could  not  dwell  in  it  myself,  is  sunk  and  carried  off  in  and  with 
it,  to  so  much  sensible  loss  to  me,  beside  that  of  the  yearly  revenue 
which  has  now  ceased  for  a  year  and  a  half. 

"  I  need  not  tell  any  body  of  the  extraordinary  charges  I  have 
been  obliged  to  be  at  this  year,  nor  mention  the  melancholy  occasion 
of  it ;  but  yet  it  may  be  very  well  thought,  that,  when  such  things 
happen,  and  are  coincident  with  such  diminutions  of  what  was  and 
is  necessary  for  the  support  of  my  post  and  station,  difficulties,  in- 


542 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LI. 


conveniences,   and   discouragements    in    public  services  must    un- 
avoidably ensue. 

"  To  be  importunate  would  be  impertinent,  and  may  be  deemed 
I  assure  you,  Mr.   Speaker,  as  I  may  not,  so 


Letter  from 

President 

Leverett  to   something  worse. 

neither  can  I,  entertain  the  thought  of  so  much  as  a  possibility,  that 


of  Repre- 
sentatives. 


the  Honorable  House  of  Representatives,  after  the  generous  care 
they  have  taken  for  the  reception  of  the  members  of  the  College, 
can  or  will  finally  neglect  the  head  of  it. 

"  I  will  do  myself  the  honor,  with  my  humble  duty  to  the  Hon- 
orable House,  and  with  profound  regards  to  yourself,  to  subscribe, 
"  Honorable  Sir, 

"  Your  most  faithful  and  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  LEVEIIETT." 


Letter  from 
President 
Leverett  to 
John 
White. 


No.  LIT.  — See  p.  283. 
LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  LEVERETT  TO  JOHN  WHITE. 

"  To  Mr.  John  White,  Boston. 

"  Cambridge,  December  14th,  1720. 
"  Sir, 

"  This  morning  Mr.  Boardman  tells  me,  that  it  was  said  in  the 
Honorable  House  of  Representatives,  that  the  President  had  not 
given  the  scholars  above  three  expositions  in  the  Hall  for  a  twelve- 
month, and  that  one  of  the  Fellows  had  said,  he  would  give  his  oath 
of  it.  I  pray,  Sir,  do  me  the  justice,  as  to  declare,  in  my  name,  that 
the  assertion  is  positively  false,  and  demand  of  the  gentleman,  that 
said  one  of  the  Fellows  would  give  his  oath  to  the  truth  thereof,  that 
he  should  tell  which  of  the  Fellows  is  disposed  to  be  forsworn,  and 
to  swear  to  a  falsehood.  Such  an  one  is  not  fit  to  have  any  thing 
to  do  in  the  College. 

"  If  it  be  the  mind  of  the  College,  that  I  should  be  starved  out 
of  their  service,  it  is  but  letting  me  know  their  mind ;  I  will  not  put 
that  House  to  exercise  that  cruelty. 
"I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT." 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  543 


No.  LIII.  —  See  p.  284. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LIII. 


LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  LEVERETT  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

"  Cambridge,  December  15th,  1720.        Letter  from 
"  Mr.  Speaker,  Sir,  President 

Leverett  to 
"  It  may  be  justly  thought  strange,  that  I  should  trouble  you  with   the  House 

a  second  letter  this  session,  and  you  will  conclude  it  is  something   sentatives. 
extraordinary  that  obliges  me  to  do  so ;  for  in  truth,  Mr.  Speaker, 
so  it  is. 

"  It  is  not  the  denial  of  what  I  thought  a  most  reasonable  request, 
and  (I  think  I  am  sure  I  designed  it)  made  in  an  humble  and  decent 
manner,  that  would  have  induced  me  to  expostulate  upon  it,  or 
revive  it;  but  the  irresistible  occasion  is  what  follows,  viz.  that 
I  was  informed,  that  a  gentleman,  a  member  of  the  Honorable 
House  of  Representatives,  namely,  Colonel  Dudley,  suggested  and 
averred  to  the  Honorable  House,  that  there  had  not  been  in  the 
College  Hall  above  or  more  than  three  expositions  performed  by  the 
President  for  this  twelvemonth  ;  and,  repeating  it,  added,  that  one 
of  the  Fellows  would  give  his  oath  that  it  is  true.  Now  I  have 
asked  every  one  of  the  Fellows,  viz.  Mr.  Flynt,  Mr.  Sever,  Mr. 
Robie,  and  Mr.  Welsteed,  who  each  and  every  one  of  them  deny, 
that  ever  any  suggestion  was  made  by  them  to  any  person,  and  that 
they  neither  are  ready  nor  can  give  their  oath  to  any  such  repre- 
sentation, for  that  they  none  of  them  suppose  it,  and  some  of  them 
know,  that  it  is  not  true.  And  I  positively  declare  that  it  is  false. 

"  The  gentleman,  I  am  sure,  could  not  pretend  to  serve  his 
country  by  such  an  averment,  and  our  just  country  are  not  willing 
to  be  served  by  such  a  falsehood.  I  will  not  pretend  to  say  what  he 
designed  to  serve  by  his  representation. 

"  I  have  served  my  country  in  sundry  posts  and  under  various 
characters,  but  I  never  was  charged  with  unfaithfulness  in  any  of 
them.  I  acknowledge  my  imperfections  in  all  of  them,  but  assert 
my  integrity,  and  can  pretend  to  some  good  measure  of  industry 
too.  As  for  the  service  I  am  now  in,  if  it  happened  the  last  year 
through  sundry  occasions,  all  relating  to  the  College;  some  of  the 
necessary  duties  and  services  were  transposed,  that  would  not  by 
any  means  expose  me  to  be  thought  diverting  from  the  service  I  am 
devoted  to,  though  some  exercises,  such  as  expositions,  were  not  so 
numerous  as  sometimes  they  have  been. 


544 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LIU. 

Letter  from 
President 
Leverett  to 
the  House 
of  Repre- 
sentatives. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

"  Besides,  everybody  knows,  one  great  and  melancholy  diversion 
from  such  services  as  would  be  duty  at  other  times,  would  be  cruelty 
to  be  expected  and  demanded  rigorously  at  such  a  time. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  must  protest  against  the  injustice  of  the  repre- 
sentation above  mentioned,  and  that  if  it  has  made  any  impressions 
upon  any  of  the  Honorable  members,  I  pray  you  to  set  me  right  in 
their  thoughts,  for  I  am  their  and 

"  Your  most  faithful  (though  abused)  and  most  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT. 

"  To  the  Honorable  Timothy  Lyndall,  Esquire, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives." 


The 

antique 

chair. 


No.  LIV.  — See  p.  288. 
THE  PRESIDENT'S  CHAIR. 

The  antique  chair  represented  in  this  vignette  has  been  used  in 
the  College  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  degrees  on  Commencement 
day,  for  time  beyond  the  memory  of  man.  Little  can  be  added 
to  the  account  given  by  Mr.  Peirce  in  the  History  of  the  College, 
p.  312. 

Vague  report  represents  it  to  have  been  brought  to  the  College 
during  the  presidency  of  Holyoke,  as  the  gift  of  the  Rev.  Ebe- 
nezer  Turell,  of  Medford  (the  author  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  Colman). 
Turell  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the  Mathers,  by  some  of 
whom  it  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  England.  Mr.  Peirce 
considers  it  as  resembling  a  class  of  chairs  described  by  Horace 
Walpole,  and  said  to  be  common  in  the  county  of  Cheshire,  being 
"  of  wood,  the  seat  triangular,  the  back,  arms,  and  legs  loaded  with 
turnery,  and  carved  and  turned  in  the  most  uncouth  and  whimsical 
forms." 

See  Private  Correspondence  of  Horace  Walpole,  Earl  of  Orford, 
Vol.  II.  p.  279,  and  Vol.  III.  pp.  23,  24. 


No.  LV.— See  p.  307. 
MEMORIAL  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College, 
in  the  Library,  December  10th,  1722. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  545 

"  A  Memorial  in  the  words  following,  viz.  APPENDIX, 

"  To  his  Excellency,  Samuel  Shute,  Esquire,   Captain-General, 


and  Governor-in-chief,   in  and  over  his  Majesty's  Province  of  the   Memorial 

'  of  the  Cor- 

Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  the  Honorable  his  Majesty's  poration  to 
Council,   and  Representatives,    in    General   Court   assembled;  the   court, 
memorial  of  the  President  and   Fellows   of  Harvard    College,    in 
Cambridge,  within  the  Province  aforesaid,  most  humbly  showeth, 

"  That,  the  Honorable  the  House  of  Representatives  having  in 
their  Journal  of  November  22d,  past,  with  a  great  deal  of  concern 
intimated,  that  it  is  of  the  last  consequence  to  that  society,  that  the 
members  of  that  Corporation  take  all  possible  caution  that  they  keep 
strictly  within  the  rules  prescribed  in  their  constitution,  in  all  their 
acts,  that  so  their  ancient  and  well-established  privileges  may  not  in 
the  leastwise  be  endangered  ;  the  members  of  that  Corporation 
humbly  say,  that  they  are  not  sensible  that  they  have  passed  any  acts 
at  any  of  their  meetings,  or  that  there  have  been  any  proceedings 
of  the  Corporation  in  the  way  and  manner  they  now  are,  but  what 
are  justifiable  and  maintainable,  and  warranted  by  their  charter. 
And  the  said  members  further  say,  that  they  are  very  sensible  that 
it  is  of  the  last  consequence  to  that  society,  and  they  believe  it  to  be 
so  to  the  whole  country  and  all  these  churches,  that  the  constitution 
of  the  College  be  entirely  preserved,  as  well  as  the  rules  prescribed 
by  the  charter  strictly  pursued.  And  that  their  ancient  and  well- 
established  privileges  may  not  be  in  the  leastwise  endangered,  the 
said  members  of  the  Corporation  humbly  think  it  to  be  their  bounden 
duty  to  move  to  this  Honorable  Court,  that  they  may  be  admitted  to 
a  hearing  upon  the  premises,  the  Corporation  not  having  as  yet  been 
heard  thereupon. 

"  Wherefore,  the  said  members  of  the  Corporation  pray  they  may 
be  heard,  and  such  a  day  given  them  to  wait  upon  the  General 
Assembly,  as  in  their  wisdom  and  justice  they  shall  see  meet. 

"  And  your  memorialists,  as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 
"  Your  Excellencies'  and  Honors' 

"  Most  humble  and  obedient  servants, 
"  JOHN  LEVERETT,  President. 

BENJAMIN  WADSWORTH,")  „  ,,  /. 

Fellows  of 
BENJAMIN  COLMAN,          i  „ 

)» Harvard 

J  HOMAS    ROBIE,  j 

NATHANIEL  APPLETON,   J 
EDWARD  HUTCHINSON,  Treasurer. 
"  Dated,  Cambridge,  College  Library, 
December  10th,  1722." 

VOL.  i.  69 


546 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LV. 

Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  General 
Court. 


"  Being  agreed  to,  it  was  voted,  that  the  same  should  be  presented 
to  the  General  Court  now  sitting,  and  put  into  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives by  Mr.  Treasurer  Hutchinson.  —  Corporation  Records, 
Vol.  IV.  pp.  81,  82. 

"  December  12th,  1722.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  a 
memorial  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  praying 
that  they  may  be  heard  on  the  vote  of  this  House,  passed  the  22d 
of  November,  and  a  day  given  them  to  wait  on  the  General  Assem- 
bly, as  in  their  wisdom  they  shall  see  meet,  &-c.  Read  and  dis- 
missed, for  that  the  prayer  of  the  memorial  is  altogether  groundless 
and  noways  to  be  justified.  Ordered,  that  a  message  be  sent  to  the 
honorable  board,  to  inquire  whether  the  vote  of  the  House,  passed 
November  22d,  relating  to  the  College,  be  passed  upon  by  the 
board."  —  Leveret? s  Manuscript,  p.  246. 


Extract 
from  a  let- 
ter of 
Thomas 
Ilollis  to 
Benjamin 
Colman. 


No.  LVL  — See  p.  307. 

EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO 
BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 

"  Your  Governor  (Shute)  expresses  a  great  value  for  your  person, 
and  tender  regard  for  your  honor.  If  they  do  vote  you  out  in  May, 
he  will  watch  it  shall  not  be  concurred  here.  He  says  he  is  willing 
to  explain,  and  enlarge  your  number  of  Fellows  in  the  Corporation 
if  advisable  it  may  be  done,  but  seems  resolved  that  your  three  non- 
residents shall  not  be  dismissed  but  on  your  own  application. — Lon- 
don, Manch  18th,  1722-3." 


No.  LVH.  — See  pp.  309,  312. 

MEMORIAL  OF  THE  CORPORATION  TO  THE  LIEUTENANT- 
GOVERNOR  AND  COUNCIL. 

Memorial         •"  At  a  Corporation  meeting  held  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 

poration  to    Colman,  in  Boston,  August  23d,  1723. 

"  The  representation  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 

Governor      College,  upon  the  affairs  of  said  College,  now  depending  in  the 

cil.  General  Court,  occasioned  by  a  late  petition  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever 

and  Mr.  William  Welsteed,  engrossed  according  to  the  agreement 
at   the   last  meeting,  being  again    read    over,    it   was  agreed,  and 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  547 

voted,  that  the  President  be  desired  to  sign  it  in  the  name  of  the   APPENDIX, 
Corporation.     The  President  signed  the  said  representation,  accord-     No-  Lvn- 
ingly,  in  the  presence  of  the  Corporation.  Memorial 

"  The  representation  of  the  President  and  Fellows  is  as  follows.       poraiion  to 
"  To  the   Honorable   William    Durnmer,    Esquire,    Lieutenant-  [enant-"" 

Governor     and    Commander-in-chief    in    and   over    his    Majesty's   Governor 

and  Coun- 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England ;  and  to  the   cil. 

Honorable  his  Majesty's  Council,  the  humble  representation  of  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  upon  the  affairs  of  said 
College,  now  depending  in  the  General  Court,  occasioned  by  a  late 
petition  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Sever  and  Mr.  William  Welsteed. 

"  It  having  pleased  your  Honors  so  far  to  regard  the  memorial 
lately  laid  by  us  before  the  General  Court,  as  to  give  us  this  hearing 
before  you  proceed  to  act  upon  the  late  resolves  of  the  honorable 
House  of  Representatives,  we  do  thankfully  acknowledge  your 
Honors'  justice  and  goodness  unto  us  herein,  and  make  our  reply  in 
manner  and  form  following. 

"  The  report  of  the  honorable  Committee  of  the  General  Court. 
June  29th,  1722,  upon  the  memorial  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, on  which  it  has  pleased  the  honorable  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  come  into  their  resolve,  consists  of  three  articles  and  an  in- 
troduction. We  crave  leave  to  make  some  short  reply  to  each  of  them. 

"  The  first  article  in  the  report  of  the  honorable  Committee  is, 
'that  it  was  the  intent  of  the  College  charter,  that  the  Tutors  of  the 
said  College,  or  such  as  have  the  instruction  and  government  of  the 
students  there,  should  be  Fellows  and  members  of  the  Corporation  of 
said  College,  provided  they  exceed  not  Jive  in  number.' 

"  To  this  we  reply,  that,  having  had  occasion  often  to  peruse  and 
consider  the  charter  of  the  College,  it  still  appears  to  us  not  to  be 
the  intent  of  said  charter,  that  the  Tutors  of  the  College,  or  such  as 
have  the  instruction  and  government  of  the  students  there,  should 
be  Fellows  and  members  of  the  Corporation  of  said  College,  pro- 
vided that  they  exceed  not  five  in  number.  And  our  reasons  are 
these  that  follow.  First.  If  this  had  been  the  real  intention  of  the 
General  Court,  who  made  and  gave  the  charter,  it  seems  unaccount- 
able to  us,  that  it  was  not  plainly  expressed,  which  might  easily  have 
been  done,  and  we  humbly  think  ought  to  have  been.  But,  instead 
of  that,  when  the  first  seven  persons  are  named  in  the  charter,  it 
immediately  adds,  all  of  them  being  inhabitants  in  the  Bay.  It  could 
as  easily  have  said,  all  of  them  being  residents  in  the  College,  or 
within  the  town  of  Cambridge,  if  that  had  really  been  the  intention 


548 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LVir. 

Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  Lieu- 
tenant- 
Governor 
and  Coun- 
cil. 


of  the  charter,  and  there  is  no  doubt  with  us  but  it  would  have  said 
so.  But  it  being  only  given  as  a  reason  or  qualification,  that  they 
were  inhabitants  of  the  Bay,  it  seems  plainly  to  follow,  that  the 
charter  never  intended  any  such  thing,  as  that  the  members  of  the 
Corporation  must  be  resident  Fellows  (or  Tutors)  in  the  House. 

"  For  we  pray  your  Honors  to  consider  with  us,  that  this  descrip- 
tion, all  of  them  being  inhabitants  of  the  Bay,  was  added  for  some- 
thing, or  for  nothing.  To  say  for  nothing,  would  be  such  a  reflec- 
tion on  that  honorable  General  Court,  as  we  can  by  no  means  give 
in  to.  If  for  something,  we  conceive  it  must  be  either  for  informa- 
tion in  matter  of  fact,  or  for  direction  in  future  conduct.  It  could 
not  be  merely  to  inform  in  matter  of  fact,  the  thing  being  notorious 
to  all.  Therefore  we  must  necessarily  conclude,  that  it  could  only 
be  a  directory  for  future  conduct ;  importing  this,  that,  in  all  times 
to  come,  when  there  shall  be  occasion  to  choose  a  person  into  the 
Corporation,  he  must  be  an  inhabitant  in  the  Bay,  as  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony  was  then  called. 

"It  seems  plain,  therefore,  that  all  the  record  which  can  be  pre- 
tended to  be  found  in  the  College  charter,  respecting  the  residence 
of  persons  to  be  elected  into  the  Corporation,  is  only  this ;  that,  as 
the  first  seven  were  inhabitants  of  the  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  so  their  successors  must  be  in  all  times  to  come. 

"  If,  may  it  please  your  Honors,  there  be  any  thing  else  in  the 
charter  that  seems  to  require  the  residence  of  the  Fellows  of  the 
Corporation  within  the  House,  it  seems  to  be  that  clause  in  it, 
and,  for  direction  in  all  emergent  occasions,  execution  of  all  orders  and 
by-laws,  the  conclusion  shall  be  made  by  the  major  part,  &c.  &LC. 
Now  from  hence  some  may  plead,  that  the  Corporation's  residing  at 
the  College  is  necessary  for  the  well-governing  the  students  there, 
and  for  the  executing  the  good  laws  provided  for  that  end. 

"  To  this  we  answer,  that  by  the  charter  it  is  the  province  of  the 
Corporation,  from  time  to  time,  to  make  such  orders  and  by-laws 
for  the  ordering  and  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  College  as  they 
shall  think  Jit,  provided  these  orders  be  allowed  by  the  Overseers. 

"  Now,  may  it  please  your  Honors,  when  such  laws  are  made,  the 
ordinary  execution  of  them  belongs  to  the  President  and  Tutors 
residing  in  the  House,  who  are  in  the  immediate  daily  government  of 
it,  and  for  this  service,  among  others,  they  receive  their  salary.  But 
upon  emergent  occasions,  and  in  great  and  difficult  cases,  the  direction 
of  the  charter  is,  that  the  President  call  the  Corporation  together  to 
advise  and  resolve,  and,  if  need  be,  to  execute,  for  the  greater  honor 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  549 

and  service  to  the  College,  which  accordingly  has  been  the  practice,   APPENDIX, 
on  occasions  that  have  called  for  severe  censures  or  expulsions. 

"  May  it  please  your  Honors,  we  humbly  conceive,  that  the  College   Memorial 
charter,  empowering  the  Corporation  to  make  orders  and   by-laws,   poration  to 
does  also  authorize  and  empower  them  to  appoint  and  require  all   tenant-"" 
officers,  in  their  respective  places  within  the  College,  to  execute  from   Go/emor 
day  to  day  the  laws  made  and  confirmed  for  the  good  order   and   cil. 
government  of  the  House.     And  in  a  particular  manner  we  judge 
the  Tutors  to  be  such  officers,  chosen  and  authorized  for  this  very 
end,  as  well  as  to  instruct;  and  unto  the  President  and  them  does 
the  execution  of  the  by-laws  and  orders  belong,  in  the  daily  ordering 
of  matters  within  the  House.     It  is  not  therefore  at  all  necessary 
(we  humbly  conceive),  that  the  Tutors   be  of  the  Corporation   in 
order  to  the  execution  of  the  laws  in  the  daily  government  of  the 
House.     Nay,  what  pretence  can  there  be,  that  persons  must  needs 
be  lawgivers  in  order  to  their  having  the  executive  trust  and  power 
committed  to  them  ? 

"  We  pray  your  Honors,  therefore,  to  observe,  that  the  execution 
of  all  orders  and  by-laws,  wherein  the  charter  directs  and  expects 
the  convening  and  acting  of  the  Corporation  is  only  upon  emergent 
occasions,  and  in  great  and  difficult  cases,  in  which  cases  a  non- 
resident Corporation  are  easily  called  together,  and  have  usually 
been  so. 

"  But,  if  any  should  say  that  this  clause,  the  execution  of  all  orders 
and  by-latos,  must  be  taken  absolutely  and  unlimitedly,  they  must 
then  extend  it  to  all  and  every  particular  in  the  daily  administration 
and  ordering  the  affairs  of  the  House ;  and  then  't  would  follow,  that 
a  student  must  not  have  leave  to  go  out  of  Commons,  or  out  of  town, 
unless  there  be  a  major  part  of  the  Corporation  actually  consenting 
in  such  a  permission  to  him  given.  As  also  that  at  least  four  of  the 
Corporation  must  consent  to  the  punishing  a  student  for  being  absent 
from,  or  tardy  at  prayers,  recitation,  or  for  the  least  misdemeanor 
that  is  punishable  by  the  laws  and  usage  of  the  House. 

"  Now  this,  in  our  apprehension,  is  so  impracticable,  not  to  say 
ridiculous,  as  that  none  can  imagine  it  to  be  the  meaning  of  the 
charter ;  and  that  the  clause  we  are  now  considering  refers  only  to 
emergencies  is  further  confirmed  to  us  from  the  Appendix  to  the 
charter,  Anno  1657,  which,  reciting  the  paragraph  referred  to,  only 
says,  all  emergent  occasions,  silently  passing  by  the  other  clause, 
execution  of  all  orders  and  by-laws.  Moreover,  also,  it  is  evident  in 
fact,  that  the  orders  and  by-laws  have  been  executed  by  the  Presi- 


550 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LVH. 

Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  Lieu- 
tenant- 
Governor 
and  Coun- 
cil. 


dent  and  Tutors  upon  the  spot  from  time  to  time,  in  the  daily 
administration  of  the  House ;  and  they  have  been  always  esteemed 
by  the  Overseers,  and  by  the  Corporation,  as  well  as  by  themselves 
also,  till  of  late,  sufficiently  authorized  to  execute  the  same. 
*  "Having  thus  far  argued  upon  one  part  and  another  of  the  charter, 
we  go  on  (may  it  please  your  Honors)  to  consider  more  particularly 
the  powers  granted  by  the  charter  to  the  Corporation,  which  we 
humbly  conceive  are  in  their  own  nature  too  great  to  be  reasonably 
granted  unto  the  Tutors  or  resident  Fellows  to  the  number  of  five. 

"  For  will  your  Honors  please  again  to  look  over  those  powers  1 
There  is  the  fleeting  of  the  Presidents  from  time  to  time.  Will 
your  Honors  think  the  resident  Tutors  in  the  House  the  fittest 
persons  for  that  great  work  ?  Then  there  is  the  choosing,  and,  upon 
occasion,  removing  all  officers,  and  of  themselves,  among  the  rest, 
which,  we  think,  must  make  but  a  very  harsh  and  ungrateful  sound 
in  everybody's  ear.  Then  there  is  the  making  of  all  orders  and 
by-laws,  for  which  kind  of  work  your  Honors  (who  are  in  the  legis- 
lature over  us)  shall  please  to  say,  who  are  to  be  ordinarily  judged 
the  most  capable  persons.  Then  there  is  the  disposing  of  all  the 
revenues  of  the  College,  and  the  appointing  all  salaries  and  allow- 
ances, for  services  to  be  done  therein. 

"Now  (may  it  please  your  Honors)  when  we  consider  these 
powers  granted  by  the  charter  to  the  Corporation,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive it  to  mean,  that  the  resident  Tutors,  to  the  number  of  five, 
should  be  so  invested.  All  these  we  think  such  articles  of  trust  and 
importance,  as  call  for  more  years,  experience,  and  judgment,  than 
the  Tutors  in  the  House  may  from  time  to  time  be  supposed  to  have ; 
for,  generally  speaking,  they  may  be  younger  gentlemen  of  small 
experience,  and  they  are  often  called  from  College  to  other  work 
before  they  can  have  a  proper  insight  into  the  weighty  affairs  and 
interests  of  the  society. 

"  We  would  also  add  here,  that,  according  to  the  charter,  no  by- 
laws or  orders  can  be  made  for  the  College  but  by  the  Corporation, 
though  the  approbation  of  the  Overseers  be  necessary. 

"  Therefore,  if  four  or  five  Tutors  be  of  the  Corporation  no  law 
can  be  made  directing  and  requiring  said  Tutors  to  do  the  services 
of  their  post,  for  which  they  receive  salaries,  unless  those  Tutors 
make  it  themselves.  Now  for  persons  in  office,  who  receive  wages 
or  salary  for  their  work,  to  be  under  no  law  referring  to  their  work 
but  what  is  of  their  own  making,  seems  contrary  to  the  reason  of 
things,  and  to  the  practice  of  all  well-regulated  societies. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  551 

"  To  be  under  no  laws  in  their  office  work  but  those  of  their  own    APPENDIX. 
making  is,  in  effect,  to  be  under  no  laws  at  all ;  for,  if  they  be  evil-     No-LVJr- 

minded,  they  may  choose  whether  they  will  make  any  such  laws  as   Memorial 

J  .  J  J  .  oftheCor- 

from  time  to  time  may  be  necessary,  none  can  constrain  them,  nor   poration  to 

make  a  new  law  without  them.  tenant" 

"  And  again,  if  the  Tutors  should  be  the  major  part  of  the  Cor-   ^n°,vl™or 
poration,  and  through  sloth  or  otherwise  should  shamefully  neglect   cil. 
the  duties  of  their  post,  or  be  abusive  or  injurious  in  it,  how  shall 
the  matter  be  mended?     If  new  laws  are  needful,  they  cannot  be 
made  without  them ;  or,  if  good  laws  already  in  being  are  to  be 
executed,  the  execution  is  with  them  in  the  case  supposed ;  and  shall 
we  think,  that  they  will  inflict  deserved  censure  on  themselves? 

"  Or  again,  let  us  suppose  four  resident  Tutors,  who  may  be  in- 
experienced, and  but  lately  chosen  into  the  Corporation ;  then  the 
whole  legislature,  and  the  whole  executive  trust,  even  upon  all 
emergencies,  and  in  all  difficult  cases,  would  be  in  their  hands ; 
which  we  apprehend  would  be  most  dangerous  to,  if  not  eversive 
of,  the  welfare  of  the  College. 

"  We  pass  on,  may  it  please  your  Honors,  to  another  argument, 
which  is  from  custom  and  usage,  which,  with  all  incorporated  bodies, 
is  a  great  interpreter  of  charters  ;  and  we  think  we  may  strongly 
argue  thus,  that  the  charter  of  the  College  was  never  interpreted  or 
understood,  that  we  know  of,  by  our  worthy  predecessors  in  the 
state  or  in  the  church,  to  mean,  that  the  Tutors  and  instructors  in 
the  College  must  necessarily  be  Fellows  of  the  Corporation. 

"  None  of  said  General  Courts,  or  Boards  of  Overseers,  have  so 
judged,  that  we  can  hear  of.  The  charter  of  1672  requires  no  such 
thing,  nor  seems  at  all  to  look  that  way,  which  act  is  for  the  per- 
petuation of  the  charter  of  1650.  And  when  the  government  of 
the  Province  have  in  their  wisdom  gone  into  the  forming  of  new 
charters  for  the  College  (as  in  the  times  of  Sir  William  Phips,  and 
in  the  times  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton,  and  the  Earl  of 
Bellamont),  yet  no  more  than  two  of  the  Tutors  were  allowed  to  be 
of  the  Corporation  in  any  of  the  draughts  or  charters  by  them 
made,  or  sent  over  for  the  royal  approbation,  although  the  Corpora- 
tion was  in  those  charters  enlarged  to  the  number  of  ten  and  of 
seventeen,  and  although  the  Governor  and  Council  for  the  time 
being  were  named  visitors  of  the  College  in  two  of  these  charters. 
This,  we  think,  is  a  matter  worthy  of  your  Honor's  special  con- 
sideration. 

"  And  moreover,  when  afterwards,  under  the  government  of  Colonel 


552 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LVII. 

Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  Lieu- 
tenant- 
Governor 
and  Coun- 
cil. 


Dudley,  the  College  was  set  upon  its  present  foot,  there  were  three 
neighbouring  ministers  put  into  the  Corporation,  and  one  of  the 
three  resident  Tutors  left  out. 

"  And,  since  that  day,  we  who  are  now  of  the  Corporation  were 
approved  by  the  Overseers  without  any  seeking  of  our  own,  directly 
or  indirectly. 

"  So  that  the  way,  which  we  are  and  have  been  in,  is  not  in  the 
least  of  our  own  devising  or  projecting,  but  it  is  the  good  old  way, 
which  our  fathers  walked  in,  and  which  they  have  set  us  in  ;  and, 
thanks  be  to  God,  we  have  experienced  his  blessing  in  it,  and  the 
College  has  increased  and  prospered  therein ;  and  (through  mercy) 
never  more  than  of  late  years,  under  the  diligent  labors  of  the 
present  Corporation.  But  the  change  of  late  projected  and  pre- 
scribed by  some  of  the  Tutors  (in  favor  of  themselves,  and,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  for  their  own  private  interest,)  is  perfectly  and  entirely 
novel. 

"  We  ask,  therefore,  this  favor  of  your  Honors,  to  leave  at  least 
this  our  testimony  and  witness;  —  that  we  apprehend  and  fear  pre- 
judice and  detriment  to  the  College  in  times  to  come,  both  as  to  its 
estate  and  also  as  to  the  government  of  it,  if  this  new  and  untried 
method  be  gone  into.  And,  if  any  great  inconveniences  or  damage 
to  the  College  do  ensue  thereupon,  we  are  clear  of  them ;  nor  will 
they  be  so  easily  retrieved,  when  they  may  be  too  late  felt  and  be- 
wailed. 

"  But  there  is  another  thing  which  we  also  crave  leave  to  recom- 
mend unto  your  Honors'  wise  and  serious  consideration,  which  is, 
that  the  College  Corporation  is  to  have  perpetual  succession  by  elec- 
tion as  vacancies  happen.  So  that  if  those  three  of  the  Corporation, 
whose  ejection  is  thought  and  endeavoured  by  some,  should  be  once 
quit  of  their  station  in  it,  or  be  made  to  cease  together  from  it,  the 
Corporation  itself  would  then  cease,  and  the  charter  become  null 
and  void,  inasmuch  as  there  will  then  remain  but  one  Fellow,  with 
the  President  and  Treasurer,  who  cannot,  by  the  charter,  make  an 
election  to  fill  up  the  vacancy.  For  the  charter  plainly  says,  that 
the  Corporation  is  to  be  continued  by  elections,  and  that  there  must 
be  the  major  part  of  seven  acting  in  those  elections. 

"  And  thus,  may  it  please  your  Honors,  we  have  made  answer  to 
the  first  article,  which  is  the  main  and  great  one,  in  the  report  of  the 
honorable  Committee;  and  we  submit  our  reasons,  weighty  as  they 
seem  to  us,  to  your  Honors'  most  impartial  and  deliberate  consider- 
ation. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  553 

"  We  come  now  to  the  second  article  in  the  report  of  the  honor-   APPENDIX, 
able  Committee,  which  is,  '  that  none  of  the  said  Fellows  be  Over-     No-  Lvn- 

seers  '  Memorial 

of  the  Cor- 
"  To  this  we  briefly  answer,  that,  should  the  Corporation  consist   poration  to 

of  resident  Tutors,  it  is  not  probable,  if  possible,  that  any  of  them   tenant^"" 
should  be  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  the  said  Tutors,  while  such,    Govemor 

'    and  Coun- 

not  being  like  to   be  teaching  elders    in  any   of  the  neighbouring   cil. 
churches,  nor  of  his  Majesty's  Council. 

"  But  then  we  still  add,  that  some  of  the  Fellows  of  the  Corpo- 
ration* have  been  of  the  number  of  Overseers  from  time  to  time;  and, 
as  we  think,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  College,  so  that  till  now  it 
never  was  judged  improper  or  unfit,  or  contrary  to  the  intent  of  the 
charter,  that  some  of  the  Fellows  of  the  Corporation  should  be  also 
of  the  Board  of  Overseers. 

"  The  last  thing  in  the  report  of  the  honorable  Committee  is, '  that 
the  President  and  Felloios  of  the  said  College,  or  the  major  part 
of  them,  are  not  warranted  to  Jix  or  establish  any  salary  or  allow- 
ance for  their  service,  without  the  approbation  and  consent  of  the 
Overseers.' 

"  To  this  we  humbly  reply;  we  think,  that  prior  acts  of  legislature 
are  to  be  explained,  restrained,  or  enlarged,  according  to  the  plain 
sense  of  subsequent  acts  of  the  same  legislature.  We  readily  own, 
that,  from  the  first  constitution  of  the  Overseers,  in  1642,  the  whole 
management  of  the  affairs  of  the  College  was  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Overseers.  But  when  the  same  legislature,  that  had  consti- 
tuted and  empowered  them,  did,  in  the  year  1650,  make  a  charter 
for  the  College,  and  invested  a  Corporation  with  the  powers  therein 
granted,  we  humbly  conceive,  that  thenceforth  there  remained  no 
more  power  to  the  Overseers  than  what-  that  charter  leaves  them. 

"  We  are  humbly  of  opinion,  that  if  the  present  powers  of  the 
Overseers  are  sought  for,  they  are  not  so  much  to  be  looked  for  in 
the  act  for  their  original  constitution  as  in  the  subsequent  acts  of 
the  General  Court,  and  particularly  the  charter  of  1650. 

"  That  charter  plainly  supposes  the  continuance  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers,  and  reserves  sundry  powers  to  them  ;  but  we  do  not  find 
that  it  leaves  them  any  power  in  the  matter  of  fixing  and  establish- 
ing any  salaries  or  allowances,  or  the  disposing  of  the  incomes  and 
revenues  of  the  College. 

"  If  this,  our  opinion,  proceeds  from  our  ignorance  or  weakness, 
we  cannot  help  it,  but  should  be  glad  to  be  enlightened  by  plain, 
strong  explications  of  any  passage  in  the  charter  to  the  contrary, 
if  any  such  there  be. 

VOL.  i.  70 


554 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.   LVH. 

Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  Lieu- 
tenant- 
Governor 
and  Coun- 
cil. 


"And  upon  all,  inasmuch  as  we  think  that  by  the  charter  it  belongs 
wholly  to  the  Corporation  to  appoint  and  fix  salaries  and  make  allow- 
ances to  those  who  do  service  in  the  College,  therefore  we  think 
it  the  more  unreasonable,  that  even  the  major  part  of  the  Corpora- 
tion should  be  of  those  who  receive  salaries  or  allowances  from  the 
College.  In  such  cases  as  these,  we  think  that  none  ought  to  carve 
for  themselves. 

"  In  fine,  upon  this  head  we  judge  that  the  sole  power  of  making 
allowances  is  by  the  charter  vested  in  the  Corporation.  We  know 
not  of  such  allowances  being  at  any  time  brought  to  the  Overseers 
for  their  fixing  them.  But  if  the  Tutors  are,  by  charter,  of  the 
Corporation,  we  own  it  were  a  most  unreasonable  thing,  that  they 
should  have  power  to  fix  and  establish  their  own  salaries.  Neither 
can  we  think  it  decent,  that  they  should  have  the  first  naming  and 
appointing  any  salary  for  themselves.  Wherefore  we  find  here  a 
new  argument,  if  not  assurance,  that  it  never  was  the  intent  of  the 
charter,  that  the  College  Corporation  should  consist  of  Tutors,  to 
the  number  of  four  or  five,  receiving  salaries. 

"  And  thus  we  have  made  some  reply  to  the  report  of  the  honor- 
able Committee,  in  the  several  articles  thereof;  only,  whereas  in  the 
preamble  to  their  report,  they  are  pleased  to  say,  that  these  their 
resolutions,  if  put  in  practice,  would  be  more  beneficial  to  the  College 
than  the  enlarging  the  number  of  the  Corporation ; 

"  We  must  still  crave  leave  humbly  to  insist  on  the  contrary 
opinion,  and  say,  that  we  should  be  heartily  glad,  and  think  it  much 
for  the  safety  of  the  College,  if  the  honorable  Court  could  in  their 
wisdom  think  it  proper  to  enlarge  the  Corporation  to  twice  its 
present  number  or  more,  because  of  the  large  powers  with  which 
we  think  it  is  intrusted ;  -always  provided,  that  the  resident  Tutors 
should  never  be  able  to  make  a  major  part,  because  we  think  it  con- 
trary to  the  light  of  nature,  that  any  should  have  an  overruling  voice 
in  making  those  laws  by  which  themselves  must  be  governed  in  their 
office  icork,  and  for  which  they  receive  salaries. 

"  Having  thus  answered  to  the  report  of  the  honorable  Committee, 
we  come  now  to  offer  a  few  words  upon  a  clause  or  two  in  the 
petition  of  Mr.  Sever  and  Mr.  Welsteed,  which  they  have  lately 
presented  to  the  General  Court. 

"  They  recite  a  proviso,  which  his  Excellency,  the  Governor, 
was  pleased  to  make  some  time  the  last  year,  that  three  of  us,  minis- 
ters, should  not  be  removed  from  the  Corporation. 

"  On  this  head  we  can  assure  your  Honors,  that  none  of  us  ever 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  555 

sought  after  such  a  proviso  in   our   favor,  directly  nor  indirectly,  APPENDIX, 
unless  our  open  arguing  and  reasoning  from  time  to  time  before     No-  Lvn- 

the  Board  of  Overseers  may  be  so  interpreted,  which  we  humbly  Memorial 

J  J    oftheCor- 

conceive  it  cannot  justly  be.  poration  to 

"  It   has  been   openly  declared  before  your  Honors,  again  and   tenant" 
again,  as  we  do  now  declare,  that  we  have  never  meant  to  argue  for   Goyernor 

arid  Coun- 

our  own  personal  continuance  in  the  Corporation,  but  only  against  a  cil. 
majority  of  the  resident  Tutors  being  of  it. 

"  We  have  no  reason  at  all,  for  our  own  parts,  to  be  unwilling  to 
part  with  our  character  as  Fellows  of  the  Corporation,  how  meanly 
soever  those  gentlemen  may  think  and  are  pleased  to  say  reflectingly 
of  us ;  and  so  far  are  we  from  desiring  to  continue  in  the  Corpora- 
tion, if  it  has  not  been,  or  may  not  be,  for  the  service  of  the  College, 
that  it  would  be  an  ease  and  a  pleasure  to  us  to  quit  our  station  in 
it,  and  see  it  better  served  by  others,  and  more  secured  by  their 
services. 

"  Again,  their  petition  has  a  clause  in  it  to  this  effect:  the  state 
of  the  College  is  now  more  difficult  and  perplexed  than  ever ;  and 
certainly  it  is  so,  for  which  we  think  the  petitioners  are  to  blame 
themselves,  as  the  first  and  moving  cause  of  it.  They  themselves 
have  first  perplexed  the  College,  and  now  they  complain  of  its  per- 
plexed estate. 

"  Again,  the  petitioners  pray  the  Honorable  Court,  that  they  may 
be  enabled,  in  their  places,  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  College  to 
good  effect. 

"  We  reply,  that  we  think  if  they  would,  as  becomes  Christians, 
study  to  be  quiet  and  do  their  own  business,  they  have  authority 
sufficient  to  do  all  that  work  and  service  in  the  College  for  which 
they  were  chosen,  and  they  have  laws  provided  for  them  to  go  by 
therein  ;  or,  if  they  need  more,  the  Corporation  is  ready  to  provide 
more,  and  to  lay  the  same  before  the  Overseers. 

"  And  now,  to  draw  unto  a  close,  we  thank  God,  and  we  thank 
your  Honors,  for  this  opportunity  granted  us  faithfully  to  discharge 
our  consciences  (how  mean  soever  in  themselves  or  meanly  thought 
of  by  others),  and  of  humbly  and  plainly  testifying  what  we  really 
think  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  College.  We  truly  and  seriously 
declare,  that  we  make  not  this  representation  for  any  by-ends  or 
self-interest.  Those  of  us,  whose  ejectment  is  so  earnestly  sought 
for,  neither  seek  nor  find  any  reward  for  all  that  time  we  spend,  or 
pains  we  take,  as  members  of  the  Corporation.  If  we  have  served 
the  College  in  any  kind  or  degree,  we  desire  to  thank  God  for  the 


556 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


Memorial 
of  the  Cor- 
poration to 
the  Lieu- 
tenant- 
Governor 
and  Coun- 
cil. 


APPENDIX,  time  and  assistance.  We  heartily  wish  and  pray  for  its  welfare,  and 
NO.  LVII.  for  tne  flourishing  of  religion  and  good  literature  in  it,  to  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  good  of  all  his  people,  even  to  the  latest  posterity, 
if  it  may  be  the  divine  pleasure  so  to  order  it. 

"  We  wish  its  enemies  may  not  find  nor  take  any  occasion  against 
it  by  its  late  unhappy  discontents  and  differences,  the  fault  whereof 
lies  at  their  door  who  have  contrived  and  fomented  them.  A  house 
or  city  divided  against  itself,  what  is  likely  to  become  of  it  1  God 
avert  the  omen ! 

"  We  again  thank  your  Honors  for  the  patient  hearing  which  you 
have  given  us.  We  desire  to  leave  the  event  to  the  wise  disposal 
of  the  sovereign  God,  and  to  submit  ourselves  thereunto,  whether  it 
be  for  correction  or  in  mercy.  We  pray  God  to  be  with  you  in  your 
judgment,  and  are 

"  Your  Honors'  most  obedient  humble  servants, 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT,  President  of  Harvard  College, 
"  in  the  name  and  at  the  desire  of  the  Corporation. 
"/n  Council,  August  23d,  1723, 
Read,  &c." 


No.  LVIII.  — Seep.  316. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  THOMAS  HOLLIS  TO 
BENJAMIN  COLMAN. 


Kxtract 
from  a 
letter  of 
Thomas 
Hollis  to 
Benjamin 
Colman. 


"  London,  February  24f/<,  1723-4. 

"  Mr.  Cook,  your  agent,  and  his  son,  did  me  the  honor  to  visit 
me  at  my  house  last  week,  and  we  discoursed  of  your  state  and  of 
your  College.  He  tells  me  your  College  is  in  a  very  bad  state  and 
condition ;  that  the  Corporation  ought  to  be  resident  Fellows,  and 
that  the  gentlemen  non-resident  are  as  worthy  persons  as  the  coun- 
try affords,  or  could  be  chosen,  but  by  their  living  at  a  distance 
cannot  attend  the  good  of  the  House  as  were  to  be  desired  ;  and 
that  you  cannot  alter  or  increase  the  number  of  your  Corporation 
without  hazard  of  the  whole  ;  that  the  wisest  men  in  Boston  had 
thoroughly  examined  it,  and  himself  also,  who  seems  to  understand 
your  constitution  very  well." 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  557 


APPENDIX, 
No.  L1X. 


No.  LIX.  —  See  p.  326. 

MEMORIAL  OF  T-HE  REV.  MR.  WADSWORTH  AND  THE  REV. 
MR.  COLMAN  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 


"  To  His  Excellency,  Samuel  Shute,  Esquire,  Captain-General   Memorial 
and  Governor-in-chief  in  and  over  his  Majesty's  Province  of    Mr.  Wads- 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  to  the  Honorable  the  Council  and  ™ 


House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court   assembled,  the  Mr-  Co1* 

man  to  the 

31st  day  of  May,  1721.  General 

"  The  memorial  of  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  humbly 
showeth, 

"  That,  your  memorialists  having  the  honor  to  stand  related  to 
the  said  College  for  the  more  immediate  inspection  and  government 
thereof,  and  being  therefore  more  peculiarly  bound  to  concern  them- 
selves in  all  respects  for  the  interest  and  welfare  of  that  society,  and 
having  taken  into  our  consideration  the  necessary  annual  expense 
of  the  President  and  head  of  that  society  in  supporting  the  honor 
of  his  station,  we  crave  leave  to  suggest,  that  we  are  humbly  of  opin- 
ion, from  the  observation  that  we  have  made,  that  what  is  at  present 
allowed  is  not  sufficient  to  answer  the  same  ;  the  charge  being  in- 
creased as  the  Province  and  the  number  of  those  that  visit  the 
College  and  President  is  increased,  and  the  President  wholly  taken 
off  from  every  other  way  and  means  of  providing  for  his  support. 

"  Your  memorialists  therefore  humbly  supplicate  this  great  and 
honorable  Court,  in  behalf  of  the  reverend  President,  as  well  as  on 
behalf  of  the  society  and  the  interests  of  learning  among  us,  that 
some  addition  (such  as  in  your  great  wisdom  and  goodness  you 
shall  judge  fitting)  may  be  made  to  his  present  allowance. 

"  We  should  not  have  presumed  to  trouble  this  great  and  honor- 
able Court  with  this  our  request  (which  has  not  its  rise  in  any 
measure  from  the  worthy  person  it  is  made  for,  but  from  our  own 
mere  motion),  if  our  relation  to,  and  many  years'  concern  for,  the 
College  had  not  given  us  a  further  knowledge  of  the  reasonableness 
and  necessity  of  it,  than  the  greatest  part  of  the  honorable  members 
of  this  Court  (by  reason  of  their  remote  dwelling)  can  be  supposed 
to  have. 

"  We  pray,  as  we  are  in  duty  bonnd,  for  the  presence  of  God 
with  the  General  Court  in  the  present  session,  and  for  His  gracious 


558  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   acceptance  of  the  government  in  all  their  cares  for  the  interests  of 
°*  LI  '     religion  and  learning,  from  time  to  time  expressed,  and  are 
"  Your  Excellency's  and  Honors' 

"  Most  humble  and  obedient  servants, 

"  BENJAMIN  WADSWORTH. 
"  BENJAMIN  COLMAN." 


No.  LX.  —  See  p.  342. 

COTTON  MATHER'S  SUGGESTIONS  ON  POINTS  TO  BE  IN- 
QUIRED INTO  CONCERNING  HARVARD  COLLEGE. 

Cotton  "  Important  points  relating  to  the  education  at  Harvard  College, 

sugges-  needful  to  be  inquired  into.  Prepared  and  humbly  offered  by  some 
:ions,  &c.  WJK>  jlaye  newjy  passed  through  the  first  four  years  of  their  being 
there. 

"  The  performances  of  a  deceased  person,  and  with  what  industry 
and  fidelity  the  churches  of  New  England  were  served  in  them,  'tis 
too  late  to  inquire  into.  But  the  course  of  things  as  they  have  gone 
on  of  late  time  is  a  just  matter  of  inquiry  among  those,  who  would 
not  see  the  greatest  interest  of  the  country  sacrificed,  and  the 
churches  betrayed. 

"  It  may  be  inquired, 

"  I.  Whether  solid  learning  be  so  valued  and  kept  in  reputation 
as  it  ought  to  be,  and  whether  there  be  not  rather  a  sensible  and 
notorious  decay  of  it  from  what  has  been  in  some  former  years. 

"  II.  Whether  the  speaking  of  Latin  has  not  been  so  discounte- 
nanced as  to  render  our  scholars  very  unfit  for  a  conversation  with 
strangers ;  and  whether  the  undergraduates  have  not  several  times 
petitioned  the  governors  of  the  College,  that  the  speaking  of  Latin 
might  be  encouraged  among  them,  and  their  petition  been  as  often 
denied. 

"  III.  Whether  the  recitations  are  such  as  to  instil  more  solid 
learning  into  the  pupils.  Whether  they  are  not  very  much  of  such 
authors,  as  are  both  unprofitable  and  indeed  of  little  regard  in  the 
learned  world  at  this  day.  Whether  the  Tutors  do  not  often  make 
their  pupils  get  by  heart  a  deal  of  insipid  stuff  and  trash,  that  they 
bid  them  at  the  same  time  to  believe  nothing  of  it.  Whether  a 
great  part  of  the  exercises  be  not  at  best  but  serious  follies. 

"  IV.  Whether  the  pupils/  having  learned  what  is  expected  of 
them  (which  to  the  more  acute  sparks  requires  very  little  prepara- 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  559 

tion),  all  the  rest  of  the  time  is  not  in  a  manner  their  own,  and  little   APPENDIX, 
care  taken  to  make  them  deserve  the  name  of  students.     Whether        °' 
it  be  the  custom  of  the  Tutors,  with  a  vigilant  inspection,  to  see 
that  they  spend  their  time  well,  and  assign  them  such  books  to  read 
as  may  be  most  useful  for  them,  and  examine  their  proficiency,  and 
what  improvements  they  make  by  reading. 

"  V.  Whether  the  scholars  have  not  their  studies  filled  with  books 
which  may  be  truly  called  Satan's  library.  Whether  the  books 
mostly  read  among  them  are  not  plays,  novels,  empty  arid  vicious 
pieces  of  poetry,  and  even  Ovid's  Epistles,  which  have  a  vile  ten- 
dency to  corrupt  good  manners.  Whether  the  Tutors  ever  look 
into  this  matter  as  they  ought  to  do. 

"  VI.  Whether  the  theological  recitations,  which  are  made  once 
a  week,  are  not  usually  carried  on  after  such  a  cursory  manner  as  to 
make  little  impression  on  the  pupils. 

"  VII.  Whether  such  books  of  divinity,  as  have  most  of  the  spirit 
of  the  Gospel  in  them,  are  such  as  are  chiefly  recommended  into 
the  reading  of  the  students ;  or  not  rather  such  as  have  many 
erroneous  and  dangerous  things  in  them.  Whether,  when  books 
that  have  rank  poison  in  them  have  been  recommended  to  students 
there  has  been  due  care  taken  to  warn  them  against  the  poisonous 
passages,  and  whether  the  more  faithful  writers,  that  have  observed 
and  censured  these  passages,  have  not  been  decried  on  all  occasions. 

"VIII.  Whether  there  has  been  a  due  concern  that  the  doctrines 
of  grace,  which  are  of  so  much  influence  on  religion,  should  be 
understood  and  espoused  by  the  students.  Or  whether  the  highest 
commendations  sometimes  given  of  some  that  have  long  been  Tutors 
there  have  not  been,  that  '  they  have  not  set  themselves  to  instil 
contrary  principles.' 

"  IX.  Whether  any  thing  has  ever  been  done,  or  one  word  ever 
spoken  by  the  Tutors,  to  acquaint  the  students  with  the  church  state, 
which  is  the  distinguishing  interest  and  beauty  of  the  churches  in 
this  country,  and  establish  them  in  it. 

"  X.  Whether  the  Tutors  ever  confer  with  their  pupils  about 
their  interior  state,  and  labor  as  men  in  earnest  with  them  for  their 
conversion  to  God  1  Whether  the  souls  of  the  young  men  are  not 
grievously  neglected  by  those  who  should  remember,  that  they  have 
the  destined  ministers  of  the  Gospel  under  their  education. 

"XI.  Whether  many  godly  persons  in  the  country  have  not  with 
sad  hearts  lamented  it,  that  their  children,  who  have  left  their  fami- 
lies with  some  Gospel  symptoms  of  piety  upon  them,  after  they  camfi 


560 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,   to  live  at  College,  do  quickly  lose  all,  and  neither  do  nor  hear  any 
more  such  things  as  they  had  before  they  went  from  home. 

"  XII.  Whether  the  most  of  these  excellent  young  ministers, 
who  are  the  gifts  of  Christ  in  the  service  of  our  churches,  will  not, 
upon  inquiry,  declare,  that,  before  they  came  to  be  what  they  are, 
they  found  it  necessary  to  lay  aside  the  sentiments  which  they 
brought  from  the  College  with  them." 


Cotton 
Mather's 
sugges- 
tions, &.C. 


Memorial 
of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Cutler 
and  the 
Rev.  Mr. 
Myles  to 
the  General 
Court. 


No.  LXI.  — See  p.  370. 

MEMORIAL  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  CUTLER  AND  THE  REV.  MR. 
MYLES  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

"  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

"  To  the  Honorable  William  Dummer,  Esquire,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  in  and  over  his  Majesty's 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  to  the  Honorable  the 
Council  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court 
assembled. 

"  The  memorial  of  Timothy  Cutler,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and 
Samuel  Myles,  Master  of  Arts,  and  as  they  are  the  present  incum- 
bents of  Christ's  Church  and  his  Majesty's  Chapel  in  Boston, 
within  the  County  of  Suffolk  and  Province  aforesaid,  most  humbly 
showeth, 

"  That  at  a  session  of  the  great  and  General  Court  the  8th  day 
of  the  7th  month,  1642,  it  was  ordered  in  these  words  :  That  the 
Governor  and  Deputy  for  the  time  being,  and  all  the  magistrates 
of  this  jurisdiction,  together  with  the  teaching  elders  of  the  six  next 
adjoining  towns,  that  is,  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charlestown,  Bos- 
ton, Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  and  the  President  of  the  College  for 
the  time  being,  shall  have  from  time  to  time  full  power  and  authority 
to  make  and  establish  all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  constitutions,  as 
they  shall  see  necessary  for  the  instruction,  guiding,  and  furthering 
said  College,  and  the  several  members  thereof,  from  time  to  time, 
in  piety,  morality,  and  learning,  &-c.,  provided  also,  that  if  any 
constitution,  order,  or  orders,  shall  be  made,  that  is  found  hurtful  to 
said  College  or  the  members  thereof,  or  to  the  weal  public,  that 
then,  upon  the  appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  aggrieved  to  the  said 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  561 

Overseers,  that  they  shall  repeal  the  said  order  or  orders  at  the  next  APPENDIX, 

meeting,  or  stand  accountable  thereof  to  the  next  General  Court,  as 

by  the  said  act  or  order,  reference  thereunto  had,  more  fully  will  Memorial 

mi  •   i-  n     i     "  i  of  the  Rev. 

appear.      1  hat   in    observance   of    your   memorialists,    Cutler    and  Dr.  Cutler 


Myles,  likewise  the  Rev.  Mr.  Henry  Harris,  as  teaching  elders  of 

this  town  of  Boston,  have   been  notified  to  be  present   at  sundry   Myles  to 

the  General 
meetings  of  said  Overseers,  and  the  said  Mr.  Harris  was  actually    Court. 

present  at  several.  But  so  it  was,  that  at  an  Overseers'  meeting  at 
the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston,  the  18th  of  May,  1727,  his  Honor 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  informing  the  board  that  application  had 
been  made  to  him  by  your  memorialist,  Cutler,  that  he  might  be 
notified  to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers,  after  a  debate 
had  thereon  the  question  was  put,  whether  the  said  Dr.  Cutler  be 
notified  accordingly,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative,  the  board  appre- 
hending that  he  is  not  entitled  thereto.  Thereupon  your  memorialist, 
Cutler,  the  15th  of  June  last,  by  writing  directed  to  the  Overseers, 
desired  to  be  informed,  if  he  was  not  entitled  to  be  present  at  the 
meetings  of  the  Overseers  when  notified  by  their  clerk  so  to  be,  or 
at  any  time  since  his  being  an  Episcopal  minister  in  the  town  of 
Boston,  or  if  he  had  forfeited  that  title  since,  and  by  what  means  ; 
and  the  said  Overseers  taking  the  same  into  consideration,  as  also 
their  constitution,  were  of  opinion,  that  the  said  memorialist  has  not 
nor  ever  had,  by  the  said  constitution,  a  right  to  sit  as  an  Overseer 
of  Harvard  College. 

"  Also  on  the  said  15th  of  June  your  memorialist,  Myles,  by 
writing  directed  to  the  Overseers,  complained  that  he  was  not  noti- 
fied by  their  clerk,  as  formerly,  to  sit  among  the  Overseers,  and 
desired  this  affair  might  be  redressed,  and  if  not,  that  he  might 
know  for  what  reasons.  The  board  made  answer,  that  he  has  not 
nor  ever  had,  by  the  said  constitution,  a  right  to  sit  as  an  Over- 
seer of  Harvard  College. 

"  Forasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  said  act  of  the  General  Court,  that 
constituted  the  said  Overseers,  directs  any  members  grieved  with 
any  orders  made  by  said  Overseers,  to  appeal  to  them,  directing  at 
the  same  time  said  Overseers  to  repeal  said  order  or  orders,  in  failure 
whereof  obliging  them  to  be  accountable  thereof  to  the  next  General 
Court;  and  that  your  memorialists  think  themselves  grieved  by  said 
order  or  vote  of  the  said  Overseers  of  the  18th  of  May  last,  which 
induced  your  memorialist,  Cutler,  to  appeal  to  said  board  for  the 
repeal  of  the  same  as  aforesaid,  at  their  next  meeting  in  June  afore- 
said, and  the  said  Overseers,  at  their  last  meeting,  instead  of  remov- 
ing the  said  order,  enforced  it,  and  passed  another  of  a  like  import, 
VOL.  I.  71 


562  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  to  exclude  your  said  memorialist,  Myles,  from  the  board  of  Over- 

Xo-Lxr-     seers. 
Memorial          «  Your  memorialists,  therefore,  pursuant  to  the  said  act,  Anno 

of  the  Rev.  '   r 

Dr.  Cutler  1642,  apply  to  your  Honors  for  redress  in  the  premises ;  not  doubt- 
R"ev.  Mr.  ing  but  that  your  Honors  will  be  of  opinion,  that  the  great  and 
toe  General  General  Court,  by  their  aforesaid  act,  did,  in  their  great  wisdom  and 
Court.  justice,  design  no  exclusion  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land from  the  inspection  and  ordering  of  Harvard  College,  since 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  Church  of  England  is  questioned  by  no  sound 
Protestant,  and  the  members  of  that  Church  in  this  government  bear 
an  equal  proportion  in  all  public  charges  to  the  support  of  said 
College,  and  the  members  of  that  Church  are  equally  with  any 
others  qualified  and  disposed  to  promote  the  interests  of  religion, 
good  literature,  and  good  manners,  the  worthy  ends  propounded  in 
the  founding  of  it ;  and  that  your  memorialists,  by  their  ordination 
and  canonical  induction  into  their  respective  churches  of  the  town 
of  Boston  are  fairly  included  in  the  denomination  of  teaching  elders 
according  to  its  natural  and  genuine  sense  and  import,  and  such 
teaching  elders,  who,  according  to  said  act,  have  a  right  to  sit  as 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College ;  and  thereupon  your  memorialists 
humbly  beg  an  order  of  this  General  Court,  that,  according  to  the 
constitution  of  the  body  of  Overseers,  they  may  be  restored  the 
right  of  Overseers,  and  may,  agreeably  to  custom,  equity,  and 
justice,  be  again  notified  and  have  seats  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  and  your  memorialists  shall  ever 
pray. 

"  TIMOTHY  CUTLER. 
"  SAMUEL  MYLES. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  27th,  1727,  read 
again,  together  with  the  answer  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College  to 
the  said  petition,  and  the  House  debated  thereon ;  also  a  reply  of 
the  petitioners  to  the  answer  aforesaid  was  read,  and  the  same  being 
duly  considered,  the  question  was  put,  whether  it  is  within  the  intent 
and  meaning  of  the  charter  granted  to  the  said  College,  that  the 
Reverend  memorialists,  the  said  Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Myles,  ought  to  be  deemed  as  members  of  the  board  of  Overseers 
hereof,  it  passed  in  the  negative.  „  WM  DuDLEy>  Speaker. 

"  Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

"  In  Council,  December  28th,  1727,  read  and  concurred. 

"  S.  WILLARD,  Secretary. 

"  Consented  to.    WM.  DUMMER. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  563 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives,  January  llth,  1727—8,  upon   APPENDIX, 
a  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  House  entered  further  into  the     No'  LXI' 

consideration  of  the  subject-matter  of  these  petitions,  and  the  fol-   Memorial 

•     -,,7,  •        •  ,  •  ofthe  Rev- 

lowing  question  was  thereupon  put,   viz.  Whether  it  is  within  the   Dr.  Cutler 

intent  and  meaning  of  the  act  of  the  General  Court,  Anno,  1642,   Rev!  Mr. 

and  referred  to  in  said  memorials,  constituting  the  board  of  Over-   Myles  to 

•  the  General 

seers  of  Harvard  College,  that  the  Reverend  memorialists,  the  said   Court. 
Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  and  Mr.  Samuel  Myles,  ought  to  be  deemed 
members  of  the  board  of  Overseers,  it  passed  in  the  negative. 

"  WM.  DUDLEY,  Speaker. 
"In  Council,  January  llth,  1727-8,  read  and  concurred. 

"  S.  WILLARD,  Secretary. 
"  Consented  to.  WM.  DUMMER." 


No.  LXII.  — See  p.  371. 

MEMORIAL  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  CUTLER  AND  THE  REV.  MR. 
MYLES  TO  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

"  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.       Memorial 

"  To  the   Honorable   William    Dummer,    Esquire,   Lieutenant-  pr.  cutieV' 
Governor  and  Commander-in-chief,   and   the  Honorable   the   RnedvtlMr 

Council  and  Representatives  in  General  Court  assembled.  Myles  to 

the  General 

"  The  memorial  of  sundry  ministers  and  others,  of  the  Church  Court, 
of  England  in  New  England,  humbly  showeth,  That  whereas  by 
the  ancient  establishment  of  the  General  Court,  held  in  Boston, 
the  8th  of  September,  1642,  the  Governor  and  Deputy  for  the 
time  being,  and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  together 
with  the  teaching  elders  of  six  next  adjoining  towns,  that  is,  Cam- 
bridge, Watertown,  Charlestown,  Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorches- 
ter, and  the  President  of  the  College  for  the  time  being,  are 
made  and  appointed  Overseers  of  the  College  at  Cambridge,  for 
the  ends  and  purposes  in  the  same  act  expressed ;  and  by  force  and 
virtue  of  that  act,  all  those  persons,  and  among  the  rest  the  ministers 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  Boston,  lately  have  been  deemed  and 
taken  to  be  Overseers  of  the  said  College,  and  from  time  to  time  ever 
since  have  assembled  and  met  together,  and  ordered  and  disposed 
the  affairs  of  said  College  as  the  Overseers.  But  so  it  is,  may  it  please 
this  great  and  Honorable  Court,  these  three  last  years  the  ministers 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  Boston  have  been  neglected  and  not 


564  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  called  to  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers  aforesaid  ;  and,  upon  appli- 

No-  LX1L  cation  made  to   them  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  and  Mr. 

Memorial  Samuel  Myles,  two  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  on 

Dr.  Cutler  the  15th  of  June  last,  the  Honorable  the  Overseers,  upon  consider- 

Hev.  Mr.  ation  of  the   constitution  aforesaid,   voted,  declared,  and  recorded 


Myles  to  tnejr  opinion,  that  the  said  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles  have  not,  nor 
Court.  ever  had,  by  the  said  constitution,  a  right  to  sit  as  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College.  We  consider  that  College  as  the  common  nursery 
of  piety  and  learning  to  New  England  in  general,  as  well  to  them 
that  are  of  the  order  of  the  Church  of  England  as  to  them  that  are 
of  the  order  of  the  churches  of  New  England  ;  the  common  in- 
terest of  both  to  support  it,  and  a  blessing  to  both  when  it  flourisheth  ; 
and  therefore  apprehend  that  it  is  a  pity  those  different  orders  should 
be  made  differing  parties,  not  only  in  the  churches  where  they  are 
different,  but  in  the  College  where  they  are  entirely  one  ;  and  will 
tend  to  discourage  those  of  the  order  of  the  Church  of  England 
from  doing  those  services  to  the  College,  or  receiving  those  benefits 
from  it,  as  otherwise  they  might. 

"  We  are  not  so  imprudent  as  to  imagine,  that  the  admission  of 
those  two  gentlemen  can  make  us  a  party  in  the  ordering  of  that 
College,  and  serve  any  secret  designs  or  separate  interests  (which 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  impossible)  ;  but  only  seek  that  all 
especial  notes  of  groundless  distinction  and  disesteem  towards  us 
may  be  abated,  and  an  universal  good  understanding  among  us  all 
promoted  and  established.  It  seems  by  the  vote  of  the  Honorable 
Overseers  above  mentioned,  as  though  they  did  not  look  upon  the 
ministers  of  the  Church  of  England  to  be  teaching  elders.  But  we 
would  humbly  hope  there  is  no  ground  sufficient,  upon  calm  thought, 
to  maintain  such  an  opinion  ;  for  they  have  both  been  ordained 
teaching  elders  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  have  their  several 
credentials  for  that  purpose,  and  have  been  both  orderly  sent  to 
execute  that  their  function  in  Boston,  which  they  are  able  to  prove  ; 
and,  as  for  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  New  England,  and  his  being 
a  teaching  elder,  it  has  never  been  questioned  and  disputed  by  those 
of  the  order  of  the  churches  of  New  England,  that  we  have  heard 
of;  indeed,  there  have  been  disputes  raised  and  maintained  con- 
cerning ruling  elders,  and  each  several  order  have  claimed  to  them- 
selves the  right  of  ruling  elders,  but  neither  order  has  ever  questioned 
but  the  elders  of  our  church  were  teaching  elders  before  now,  if 
it  now  be  questioned.  Wherefore,  forasmuch  as  this  great  and 
Honorable  Court  has  the  superintending  and  government  of  all 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  565 

affairs  within  this  Province,  for  the  common  good  and  general  quiet   APPENDIX, 
and   happiness  of   all   his  Majesty's  good  subjects  here ;    and  the     No'  LXH' 
Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles  have  made  this  Honorable  Court  Memorial 

of  the  Rev. 
their  last  resort  here,  both  as  the  common  and  impartial  patrons  Dr.  Cutler 

of  all  good   men,  and  the  best  expositors  of  your  own  acts ;    we  Rev.  Mr. 
therefore,  in  concurrence  with  them,  humbly  pray  this  Honorable 
Court,  that,  according  to  the  original  fundamental  constitution  of   Court, 
the  said  Overseers,  these  worthy  gentlemen  may  be  deemed,  reputed, 
and  declared  by  this  Honorable  Court,  to  be  two  of  the  said  Over- 
seers of  the  said  College  at  Cambridge  ;  and  your   Honors'  most 
humble  orators  shall  ever  pray  for  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of 
this  government  and  that  of  the  College  at  Cambridge,  and  every 
interest  of  New  England,  both  civil  and  sacred." 

Signed  by  seventy  persons. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  25th,  1727,  read,  and 
ordered,  that  these  petitions  be  referred  to  the  next'fall  session  of  this 
Court  for  further  consideration,  and  that  in  the  mean  time  Mr. 
Secretary  be  directed  to  serve  the  clerk  of  the  Overseers  of  Har- 
vard College  with  a  copy  of  the  said  petitions,  that  the  Overseers 
may  make  answer  thereto  at  the  said  session.  Sent  up  for  concur- 
rence. 

"  WM.  DUDLEY,  Speaker. 

"  In  Council,  August  26th,  1727,  read  and  concurred  with  the 
amendments. 

"  Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

"  J.  WILLARD,  Secretary. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  26th,  1727,  read  and 

concurred. 

"  WM.  DUDLEY. 

"  In  Council,  August  26th,  1727,  consented  to. 

"WM.    DUMMER." 


566  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX, 
No.  LXIir. 

No.  LXIII.  —  See  p.  374. 

ANSWER  OF  THE  OVERSEERS  TO  THE  MEMORIAL  OF  THE 
REV.  DR.  CUTLER  AND  THE  REV.  MR.  MYLES. 

Answer  of  "  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England. 

the  Over-          « To   the    Honorable   William    Dummer,    Esquire,   Lieutenant- 
seers,  &c.  .         _  *       ' 

Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  in  and  over  his  Majesty's 

Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  aforesaid,  and  to  the 
Honorable  the  Council  and  Representatives  in  General  Court 
assembled,  at  Boston,  Nov.  22d,  Anno  Domini,  1727. 

"  The  answer  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge, 
to  the  memorials  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  Cutler  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Myles,  with  sundry  others,  in  their  behalf,  presented  to  the  General 
Court  in  August  last,  against  the  Overseers,  and  referred  to  the 
consideration  of  this  present  session,  humbly  showeth, 

"  That  the  said  Overseers  freely  allow,  that  at  a  session  of  the 
great  and  General  Court,  the  8th  of  September,  1642,  the  Governor, 
Deputy,  and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  with  the  teach- 
ing elders  of  Cambridge,  Watertovvn,  Charlestown,  Boston,  Rox- 
bury,  and  Dorchester,  and  the  President  of  the  College  for  the  time 
being,  were  made  and  appointed  the  Overseers  of  the  said  Col- 
lege. That,  agreeable  to  this,  upon  his  Honor  the  Lieuten ant- 
Governor  informing  the  board  of  Overseers,  on  the  18th  of  May 
last,  that  application  had  been  made  to  him  by  the  said  Rev.  Dr. 
Cutler,  that  he  might  be  notified  to  be  present  at  the  Overseers' 
meetings,  the  said  Overseers  did  vote,  that  he  be  not  notified,  the 
board  apprehending  that  he  is  not  entitled  thereto;  as  also  about 
the  15th  of  .Tune,  upon  the  said  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Myles 
complaining  of  not  being  notified,  at  a  very  full  board  of  the  Over- 
seers, the  said  board,  taking  the  same  into  serious  consideration,  and 
examining  the  said  memorialists'  pretended  right  by  the  act  or  con- 
stitution aforesaid,  did  by  a  very  great  majority  vote,  that  they  had 
not,  nor  ever  had,  by  the  said  constitution,  a  right  to  sit  as  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College ;  and  they  found  their  judgment  on  the  following 
reasons. 

"  1.  It  is  a  most  clear,  undeniable,  and  universal  rule,  that  the 
signification  of  terms  must  be  decided  in  every  country  according 
to  the  known  and  general  acceptation  of  them,  in  the  several  coun- 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  567 

tries  where  they  are  used,  and  laws  must  needs  be  explained  ac-  APPENDIX, 
cording  to  the  general  use  of  the  terms  in  the  places  where  they      °'  ' 
are  made,  in  times  when  they  are  enacted,  and  agreeable  to  the 


known  principles  of  the  legislators.  seers,  &c. 

"  Thus,  a  deacon,  in  England,  both  in  general  use  and  in  all  their 
public  acts,  signifies  a  person  ordained  to  preach  the  gospel;  but  a 
deacon,  in  this  country,  always  signified  a  person  chosen  to  take 
care  only  of  the  churches'  temporal  matters.  And  thus,  the  signi- 
fication of  magistrate  in  England,  and  even  now  in  New  England, 
extends  to  every  one  of  his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  ;  but  in 
the  time  when  the  act  abovesaid  was  made,  wherein  the  said  term 
is  used,  the  known  signification  extended  only  to  those  who  were 
Assistants  to  the  Governor  in  Council,  and  therefore  must  be  still 
so  explained. 

"  2.  Agreeable  to  this  undeniable  rule,  the  phrase  expressed  in 
the  abovesaid  act  of  a  '  teaching  elder,'  must  for  the  same  reason  be 
construed. 

"  Now  the  known  construction  of  these  terms  in  this  country, 
from  the  very  beginning,  is  this,  namely,  the  pastors  and  teachers 
of  a  complete  and  Congregational  church,  the  very  same  which  the 
Scriptures  call  by  the  name  of  bishops,  who  have  the  full  power 
both  of  teaching  and  administering  the  sacraments,  and  of  ruling  in 
the  said  church,  and  are  called  teaching  elders,  to  distinguish  them 
from  another  sort  of  elders,  which  have  the  power  of  ruling  only, 
which  latter  are  therefore  called,  for  distinction's  sake,  ruling  elders. 
This  is  the  known  signification  of  the  term  '  teaching  elders  '  among 
us;  in  this  sense  it  has  been  used  from  the  beginning.  It  indeed 
lay  in  the  foundation  of  this  ancient  colony  ;  is  agreeable  to  all  the 
public  writings  in  defence  of  these  churches,  to  their  judgment 
declared  in  the  synods,  approved  by  their  General  Courts,  and  the 
laws  of  the  said  jurisdiction  ;  and  this  is  the  known  and  general 
meaning  of  these  terms  to  this  very  day.  For  the  proof  of  this,  we 
would  observe, 

"  1st.  There  was  not  one  assembly,  nor  so  much  as  one  minister, 
magistrate,  or  representative  in  the  General  Court,  professedly  of 
the  Church  of  England,  for  above  fifty  years  after  the  settlement 
of  the  said  colony,  arid  for  above  forty  years  after  the  act  abovesaid, 
there  being  no  others  but  teaching  elders  of  Congregational  churches 
then  in  being  in  this  country,  and  it  is  such  elders  only  that  it  can 
refer  to. 

"2d.  To  make  this  evident  we  shall  cite  some  of  the  laws  of  the 


568 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


Answer  of 
the  Over- 
seers, &c. 


APPENDIX,  said  jurisdiction  in  those  times  wherein  the  united  body  both  of 
magistrates  and  people  declared,  that  by  the  '  churches '  they  meant 
Congregational  churches,  and  by  '  elders'  the  elders  of  those  churches. 
Among  the  laws  of  the  said  jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts,  title 
ecclesiastical,  are  the  following  passages. 

"  '  Sec.  1.  All  the  people  of  God  within  this  jurisdiction,  who  are 
not  in  a  church  way  and  be  orthodox  in  judgment,  and  not  scan- 
dalous in  life,  shall  have  full  liberty  to  gather  themselves  into  a 
church  state,  provided  they  do  it  in  a  Christian  way,  with  the  ob- 
servation of  the  rules  of  Christ  revealed  in  his  word.' 

"  '  Sec.  4.  Every  church  hath  free  liberty  of  election  and  ordination 
of  all  her  officers  from  time  to  time,  provided  they  be  able,  pious, 
and  orthodox.' 

"  '  Sec.  5.  Every  church  hath  free  liberty  of  admission,  recom- 
mendation, dismission,  and  expulsion,  or  disposal  of  their  officers 
and  members,  upon  due  cause,  with  free  exercise  of  the  discipline 
and  censures  of  Christ  according  to  the  rules  of  the  word.' 

"  'Sec.  13.  Considering  the  rich  blessing  of  God  flowing  from  the 
good  agreement  of  the  civil  and  church  state,  it  is  therefore  ordered, 
that  hencefortli  no  person  shall  be  ordained  to  the  office  of  a  teach- 
ing elder,  where  any  two  organic  churches,  Council  of  State,  or 
General  Court,  shall  declare  their  dissatisfaction  thereat ;  and,  in 
case  of  ordination  of  any  teaching  elders,  timely  notice  thereof  shall 
be  given  to  three  or  four  of  the  neighbouring  organic  churches  for 
their  approbation.' 

"  See  also  Sec.  3,  6,  12,  14,  and  last. 

"  But,  to  put  the  matter  beyond  all  possibility  of  evasion,  we  shall 
here  produce  the  most  approved  and  public  declaration  of  the  judg- 
ment both  of  magistrates  and  ministers,  churches,  courts,  and 
people,  in  those  days,  and  this  is  in  their  well-known  Platform  of 
church  discipline.  As  previous  to  which  we  shall  (1st)  observe, 
that  the  General  Court,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1646,  made  an  order 
for  the  calling  of  a  synod  from  all  the  churches  of  this  country,  in 
the  following  words ;  '  To  agree  on  a  form  of  government  and  dis- 
cipline for  the  main  and  substantial  parts  thereof  as  that  which  they 
judge  agreeable  to  the  holy  Scriptures,  that  it  may  receive  from  the 
said  General  Court  such  approbation  as  is  meet ;  and  our  posterity 
may  not  so  easily  decline  from  the  good  way  when  they  shall  receive 
the  same  thus  publicly  and  solemnly  commended  to  them.' 

"2d.  The  said  synod  accordingly  met,  agreed  on  the  said  Plat- 
form, and  presented  it  to  the  General  Court,  who  sent  it  to  all  the 


HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  569 

churches  in  the  government,  desiring  them  to  signify  how  far  it  was   APPENDIX, 
suitable  to  their  judgment    and    approbation.     Upon  return  of  the        ' 

same  by  the  Representatives  of  the  several  towns,  the  General  Court   Answer  of 
"  .      the  Over- 

took  further  care  to   remove  all  objections,  as  appears  from  their   seers,  &c. 

records,  and  then  in  their  session  of  October  14th,  1651,  declare 
their  approbation,  concluding  with  the  following  words;  'Accounting 
themselves  called  of  God,  especially  at  this  time,  when  the  truth  of 
Christ  is  so  much  opposed  in  the  world,  to  give  their  testimony  to 
the  said  Book  of  Discipline,  that,  for  substance  thereof,  it  is  what  we 
have  practised  and  do  believe.'  Agreeable  to  this  most  public  decla- 
ration of  their  preceding  practice  and  continued  belief,  we  shall  now 
show  to  your  Honors  what  their  said  practice  and  belief  were  in  said 
book. 

"  In  Chap.  II.  Sec.  5,  they  declare  their  judgment,  that  the  state 
of  the  members  of  the  visible  church  walking  in  order  since  the 
coining  of  Christ  is  only  Congregational  (the  term  Independent  we 
approve  not),  therefore  neither  national,  provincial,  nor  classical. 

"  Chap.  IV.  Sec.  3.  That  the  form  of  a  church  is  a  visible  cove- 
nant. 

In  Chap.  VI.  Sec.  3.  That  the  officers  of  a  church  were  either 
extraordinary,  such  as  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists ;  ordinary,  as 
elders  and  deacons. 

"  Sec.  4.  That  the  elders  are  also  in  Scripture  called  bishops, 
and  of  these  some  attend  chiefly  to  the  ministry  of  the  word,  as  the 
pastors  and  teachers;  others  attend  especially  to  rule,  who  are  there- 
fore called  ruling  elders. 

"  Chap.  VII.  Sec.  1.  That  ruling  elders  are  not  so  called  to 
exclude  the  pastors  and  teachers  from  ruling,  because  rule  and 
government  is  common  to  these  with  the  others. 

"  Chap.  X.  Sec.  5.  They  assert  the  power  of  the  church  and 
brotherhood  (1st)  to  choose  their  own  officers,  whether  elders  or 
deacons;  (2d)  to  admit  their  own  members,  and  both  to  excommu- 
nicate and  otherwise  censure  them  for  offences,  arid  to  restore  the 
penitent. 

"  Sec.  8.  That  the  power  that  Christ  has  committed  to  the  elders 
is  to  feed  and  rule  the  church;  and  Sec.  11.  That  the  ordaining 
power  of  government  belongs  only  to  the  elders,  the  power  of 
judge  remains  with  the  brotherhood ;  and  that,  in  an  organic  church 
and  right  administration,  no  church  act  can  be  perfected  without  the 
consent  of  both.  This  is  the  substance  of  said  Platform,  whereby  it 
essentially  differs  from  most  other  schemes  of  church  order  and 

VOL.  i.  72 


570  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   discipline,  and  which  the  said  General  Court  has  borne  their  testi- 
HL    mony  to,  have  been  their  practice,  and  what  they  believed.    And  by 


Answer  of  these  things  it  appears  as  clear  as  the  light,  that  by  churches  were 
seers,  &c.  meant,  by  the  framers  of  those  ancient  laws,  no  other  than  the 
Congregational  churches ;  by  elders,  no  other  than  elders  of  these 
particular  churches,  which  elders  they  also  accounted  to  be  such  as 
are  chosen  by  the  said  churches,  and  have  full  power  both  to  teach, 
to  feed,  and  to  rule  them,  and  therefore  no  others  but  such  elders  as 
these  were  by  them  intended  and  appointed  to  be  the  Overseers  of 
the  College  by  the  act  abovesaid. 

"  And  hence  the  said  Overseers  draw  the  undeniable  conclusion, 
that  the  said  Reverend  memorialists  neither  have,  nor  ever  had,  by  the 
said  act,  a  right  to  sit  among  us  as  Overseers  of  Harvard  College ; 
that  all  insinuations  of  the  said  memorialists  about  their  being 
teaching  elders,  and  of  groundless  notes  of  distinction,  &c.,  are  en- 
tirely vain,  not  only  because  the  said  denomination  can  never  be 
found  attributed  to  them  in  any  public  acts  whatever,  either  abroad 
or  here,  but  is  only  now  assumed  to  serve  their  present  turn  and 
break  in  upon  our  ancient  constitution ;  and  even  they  themselves  in 
the  title  of  their  memorial  carefully  avoid  the  style  where  one  would 
especially  on  such  an  occasion  expect  it,  and,  instead  of  calling 
themselves  teaching  elders  of  Christ  Church  and  his  Majesty's 
Chapel  in  Boston,  they  chose  to  entitle  themselves  the  incumbents 
of  the  said  church  and  chapel,  a  style  that  is  unknown  among  us, 
and  can't  be  found  in  any  of  our  public  instruments.  But  especially 
all  the  memorialists  say  on  this  head  is  wholly  beside  the  question, 
inasmuch  as  the  said  Reverend  memorialists  never  pretended,  nor 
may  they  pretend,  to  be  such  sort  of  elders  as  the  framers  of  the  act 
aforesaid  have  so  fully  declared  to  be  their  intention,  which  would 
be  for  the  Reverend  memorialists  to  assert  themselves  to  be.  the  same 
with  bishops  in  Scripture,  and  have  the  full  and  unsubordinate  power 
both  to  teach,  feed,  and  govern  their  particular  churches.  Nor 
is  their  discourse  about  their  notification  any  more  to  their  purpose  ; 
for  it  is  well  known,  that,  for  many  years  after  there  were  ministers 
of  the  order  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  town  of  Boston,  they 
were  never  deemed  to  be  Overseers,  never  notified,  never  complained 
of  their  not  being  notified,  and,  when  they  were  notified  some  few 
years  since,  it  was  done  without  the  direction  of  the  Overseers;  and, 
though  the  error  was  not  so  well  considered  in  the  time  of  it,  it  has 
since  been  noticed  and  corrected,  and  for  some  years  past  has  ceased 
accordingly.  And  it  cannot  be  supposed,  that  a  notification  gives 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  571 

right  to  any  to  be  Overseers,  who  have  no  previous  right  by  the   APPENDIX 
plain    intention   of  the   act  aforesaid.     For  then  the  Overseers  or    No- 


their  clerk  may  convey  a  right  to  whom  they  please,  in  defiance   Answer  of 
of  the  said  act,  and  so  alter  the  constitution  at  their  pleasure.        seers  &c 

"  And,  as  for  the  Reverend  memorialists,  they  neither  of  them  ever 
met,  or  acted,  or  ordered,  or  disposed  of  the  affairs  of  the  College, 
as  is  wrongly  insinuated  in  some  of  the  memorials.  And,  as  for  their 
arguments  from  the  College  being  a  nursery  of  piety  and  learning 
to  £Jew  England  in  general,  not  only  to  those  of  the  order  of  the 
churches  of  New  England,  as  the  memorialists  term  it,  but  also  to 
them  of  the  Church  of  England,  the  common  interest  and  charge 
of  both  to  support  it  ;  it  is  easily  answered,  that  we  account  it 
distinguishing  honor  to  our  College,  that  the  education  there  is  free, 
without  oaths  or  subscriptions  to  any  particular  sort  of  church  order 
or  discipline  ;  and  that,  though  the  governors  of  the  College  be  of  the 
Congregational  order,  yet,  agreeably  to  their  known  principles  of 
liberty,  the  sons  of  the  Church  of  England  are  as  welcome  to  the 
learning  and  academical  honors  there  as  any  of  our  own  children  ; 
and  this  is  as  much  as  the  memorialists  can,  in  honor  or  justice, 
desire  of  those  who  are  intrusted  with  a  constitutfon  settled  for 
above  fourscore  years  before  the  said  Reverend  memorialists,  or  any 
of  their  order,  pretended  to  a  right  to  come  among  us,  and  even 
above  forty  years  before  there  were  any  of  the  said  reverend  order 
settled  in  this  country  ;  but  the  Overseers  account  the  said  act  and 
constitution  as  a  sacred  deposit  put  into  their  hands  to  keep  invio- 
late, by  the  excellent  and  ancient  fathers  of  this  country  in  General 
Court  assembled,  which  they  cannot,  either  in  law  or  conscience, 
in  the  least  vary  from  ;  and  for  the  same  reason  that  the  memorialists 
have  made  this  Honorable  Court  their  last  resort,  as  the  best  ex- 
positors of  their  own  acts,  the  said  Overseers  cannot  doubt  but  your 
Honors  will  adhere  to  the  said  ancient  constitution,  and  not  adjudge 
the  Reverend  memorialists  to  be  such  teaching  elders  as  the  above- 
said  act  intends,  nor  ever  declare  them  to  be  of  the  number  of  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College.  All  which  is  humbly  submitted  to 
the  great  wisdom  and  justice  of  this  Honorable  Court  by  the  Over- 
seers of  the  said  College.  In  the  name  and  by  the  order  of  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College. 

"  HENRY  FLYNT,  Clerk  Curator. 

"  In  Council,  December  18th,  1727,  read  and  ordered  to  be  sent 

down-  "  SAMUEL  TYLEY,  Clerk:' 


572  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX, 

Na  uuv-_  No  LXIV.  — See  p.  375. 

REPLY  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  CUTLER  AND  THE  REV.  MR.  MYLES 
TO  THE  ANSWER  OF  THE  OVERSEERS. 

"  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Reply  of  «in  the  great  and  General  Court,  November  22d,  1727.     The 

the  Rev. 

Dr.  Cutler,    reply  of  Dr.  Cutler  and  others  to  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 

&c.  .,    . 

their  answer. 

"  May  it  please  your  Honors,  the  said  Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Myles,  present  incumbents  of  Christ  Church  and  the  King's  Chapel 
in  Boston,  are  (as  we  humbly  conceive)  by  the  act  of  the  General 
Court  of  the  8th  of  September,  1642,  made  two  of  the  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,  for, 

"(1st.)  They  have  been  duly  ordained,  instituted,  and  inducted 
into  their  respective  churches,  and  are  in  fact  proper  teaching 
elders  of  these  churches,  as  we  have  alleged,  and  are  ready  to 
prove,  and  this  has  not  been  denied  by  the  answer  aforesaid ;  and 
therefore  they^  are  by  the  act  made  Overseers,  and  have  a  right  to 
sit  as  such. 

"  (2d.)  The  Presbyters  or  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England 
were  meant  and  intended  by  the  terms  of  teaching  elders  in  the  act 
aforesaid,  for  the  plain  force  of  the  terms  includes  them  to  every 
man's  understanding  ;  and  therefore  we  can't  imagine  the  legisla- 
ture intended  by  those  terms  to  exclude  them.  The  gentlemen, 
that  made  that  law,  honored  these  ministers  as  the  Lord's  ministers, 
and  that  church  as  their  dear  mother,  as  by  their  letter  but  twelve 
years  before  this  act,  dated  April  7th,  1630,  subscribed  John  Win- 
throp,  Governor,  George  Phillips,  Richard  Saltonstall,  Charles  Fines, 
Isaac  Johnson,  Thomas  Dudley,  William  Coddington.  When  this 
act  was  made,  the  gentlemen  that  made  it  had  no  more  power  to 
hinder  any  of  the  Church  of  England  from  coming  into  this  place, 
nor  any  assurance  they  would  not  be  here  the  next  year;  and,  if 
they  had,  it  is  not  possible  these  gentlemen  should  say  to  them, 
Your  ministers  are  not  teaching  elders,  nor  have  any  right  to  sit 
as  Overseers.  These  things  laid  in  the  foundation. 

"(3d.)  We  are  humbly  of  opinion,  that  the  memorialists  have  as 
good  a  right  to  sit  now,  as  they  would  have  had  if  they  had  come 
forty  years  ago,  for  in  that  they  are  but  in  the  common  case  of  all 
the  rest  in  reality,  and  therefore  'tis  no  argument  against  them, 
that  they  came  here  but  lately. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  573 

"  (4th.)  Though  the  ecclesiastical  laws  gave  good  men  -a  liberty  APPENDIX, 
to  gather  into  a  church,  and  that  church  liberty  to  elect  and  ordain    No-  LXIV- 


their  officers,  to  admit,  expel,  and  dispose  of  their  officers  and  ^ePJy  of 
others,  but,  when  they  did  ordain  any,  they  should  have  the  appro-  Dr.  Cutler 
bation  of  the  neighbouring  churches,  yet  they  never  say,  that,  if  any 
number  of  those  good  men  be  of  the  Church  of  England,  they  may 
not  give  up  these  liberties  we  here  give  them;  if  they  do,  and  send 
to  the  Bishops  for  a  teaching  elder,  he  shall  not  exercise  his  func- 
tion here.  But  't  is  plain  those  laws,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
those  worthy  men  in  these  disputed  points,  gave  liberty  for  the 
people  to  erect  such  a  church  among  them,  and  at  the  same  time 
never  thought  the  Church  of  England  no  church,  the  ministers  no 
teaching  elders,  nor  had  a  thought  of  depriving  them  of  liberty  of 
conscience  here. 

"  (5th.)  The  Platform  indeed  doth  seem  to  give  us  a  pretty  clear 
description  of  teaching  elders,  that  they  are  such  as  are  also  called 
Bishops,  and  have  power  both  to  teach  and  rule  the  churches  ;  and 
yet  we  are  humbly  of  opinion,  that  don't  prove  the  memorialists 
have  no  right  to  sit  as  Overseers  of  Harvard  College  ;  for  those 
reverend  and  worthy  gentlemen  that  compiled  the  Platform,  though 
they  herein  gave  their  opinion  in  a  disputed  point,  yet  they  never 
meant  this  opinion  was  such  a  fundamental  article  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  that  he  that  being  ordained  a  teaching  elder  could  not 
think  himself  therefore  a  bishop,  and  to  have  all  the  power  of 
ruling  the  church  committed  to  him,  was  therefore  in  fact  degraded, 
was  no  minister  at  all,  and  that  the  inferior  clergy  of  the  Church 
of  England  were  not  to  be  acknowledged  as  ministers  and  teaching 
elders  :  such  austere  sentences  are  no  consequence  from  private 
opinions  differing  in  point  of  mode  and  form.  Besides,  if  there  be 
any  thing  in  these  declarations  of  the  Platform  compared  with  the 
ecclesiastic  laws  aforesaid,  it  seems  to  be  entirely  in  the  memorial- 
ists' favor  ;  for  the  said  laws  seem  to  give  all  the  power  and  rule  to 
the  fraternity,  to  ordain,  expel,  and  dispose  of  the  pastors  and  others, 
and  leave  nothing  but  the  faculty  of  teaching  and  feeding  to  the 
teaching  elders.  These  laws  are  made  in  1641,  and  then  in  1642 
the  act  is  made  to  make  teaching  elders  Overseers  of  the  College. 
Wherefore  it  seems  plain,  that  the  memorialists,  who  claim  but  to 
be  teaching  elders,  not  to  be  bishops,  nor  to  have  the  full  and  unsub- 
ordinate  power  both  to  teach  and  govern  their  particular  churches, 
thereby  keep  themselves  duly  within  the  primary  sense  of  the 
legislature  in  those  terms  of  'teaching  elders'  ;  while  the  gentlemen 
that  follow  the  Platform  plainly  depart  from  the  law,  deny  the  entire 


574 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  power  of  the  fraternity,  and  claim  a  full  unsuhordinate  power  to 
NO.  LXIV.  ru]e  tnejr  particuiar  churches,  and  to  be  the  same  with  bishops,  and 
Reply  of  that  by  the  Platform  made  some  years  after  the  said  laws  and  the 

the  Kevv 

Dr.  Cutler,  act  appointing  the  Overseers,  by  this  departure  from  the  laws  to  the 
Platform,  seem  to  put  themselves  out  of  the  intention  of  these 
terms  of  'teaching  elders'  in  the  act  aforesaid.  So  that,  upon  the 
whole,  we  account  the  College  a  common  interest,  and  beg  leave, 
with  the  answerers,  to  call  it  our  College,  and  the  said  act  our 
depositum.  They  will  have  nevertheless  benefit  of  it,  and  we  shall  all 
have  the  more  charity,  and  the  better  title  to  a  blessing  on  it,  which 
is  and  shall  be  the  constant  prayer  of  your  Honors'  most  humble 
orators,  &c. 

"  We  flatter  ourselves  that  your  Honors  will  candidly  attribute 
all  the  imperfections  of  this  replication  to  the  contractedness  of  the 
time  we  had  to  put  in  the  same.  We  were  only  from  eight  last 
night  till  this  morning. 

"  JOHN  READ,  Pro  Quer." 


No.  LXV.— See  p.  388. 
OVERSEERS'  COMMITTEE  OF  INQUIRY. 
Overseers'         Qn   this  committee  there  were,  of  the  Council,  the  Honorable 

committee 

of  inquiry.  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Spencer  Phips,  and  Jonathan  Remington:  and 
of  the  clergy,  the  Rev.  John  Webb,  William  Cooper,  Thomas  Fox- 
croft,  and  Joshua  Gee. 


Case  of 
Mr.  Long- 
loissorie, 
French 
instructor. 


No.  LXV  I.  — See  p.  394. 
CASE  OF  MR.  LONGLOISSORIE,  FRENCH  INSTRUCTOR 

An  account  of  the  errors  of  this  individual  is  given  by  Dr. 
Wigglesworth,  Hollis  Professor  of  Divinity,  in  his  "  Letter  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  George  Whitefield,  by  Way  of  Reply  to  his  Answer  to 
the  College  Testimony  against  him  and  his  Conduct,"*  written  for 
the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  tendency  of  that  enthusiasm,  for 
which  he  condemned  Whitefield,  to  mistake  "  dreams  and  sugges- 
tions, and  any  thing  which  bears  strongly  upon  the  mind,  as  from 


*  Printed  at  Boston,  1745,  4to. 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  575 

the  Spirit  of  God,"   and  which  proved  destructive  to  faith,  as  in  APPENDIX, 
other  instances  to  good  conscience. 

"  We  very  sensibly  felt  its  ill  elfects  in  the  society  under  our  care  Case  of 
not  more  than  ten  years  ago,  when  a  gentleman,  who  had  been 
permitted  to  teach  the  French  tongue  in  the  College,  where  he  had 
behaved  himself  to  all  appearance  unblamably,  at  length  began  to 
give  too  much  heed  to  certain  dreams,  which  he  supposed  to  be  of 
divine  original.  And,  when  once  he  had  gotten  his  imagination 
thoroughly  heated  with  these,  he  soon  began  to  fancy  himself  fa- 
vored frequently  with  visions  too,  and  these  sometimes  attended  with 
articulate  voices  to  instruct  him  in  the  divine  meaning  and  design 
of  them.  Upon  this  he  very  industriously,  though  with  as  little 
observation  as  he  could,  endeavoured  to  propagate  among  his  intimate 
friends  several  strange  and  pernicious  doctrines;  such  as  the  un- 
lawfulness of  magistracy  among  Christians,  and  consequently  of  any 
temporal  punishments  for  evil  doers  from  men  ;  that  punishment 
from  God  in  the  future  state  would  be  sure  not  be  eternal,  nor  any 
other,  nor  perhaps  more,  even  for  a  time,  than  what  wicked  men 
now  suffer  in  this  world,  by  being  abandoned  to  the  outrage  of  their 
own  and  others'  passions,  &.c.  That  a  standing  ministry,  ordi- 
nances, the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  social  worship,  were  all  without 
warrant  from  the  New  Testament;  that,  beside  our  blessed  Lord 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  who  was  in  his  account  but  a  mere  creature 
(if  not  a  mere  man),  there  was  quickly  to  be  expected  a  second 
Messiah  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  who  is  the  Shepherd,  the  Stone  of 
Israel,  spoken  of  Gen.  xlix.  24.  And  the  person  '  like  the  Son  of 
Man,  whom  Daniel  saw  in  the  night  visions,  to  whom  there  was 
given  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  &c.'  Dan.  ix.  13,  14., 
that  this  person  was  then  in  being;  that  he  had  been  often  presented 
to  him  in  vision,  and  was  one  whom  he  knew  very  well.  And 
though  he  declined  telling  who  he  was,  under  pretence  of  wanting  a 
permission  for  it,  yet,  by  many  circumstances  it  appeared  highly 
probable  that  he  himself  was  the  man,  in  his  own  conceit.  Nor 
was  his  being  by  birth  a  Frenchman  an  objection  of  force  enough 
to  be  set  in  opposition  to  his  heavenly  visions ;  for  multitudes  in  the 
world  (as  he  said)  are  undoubtedly  of  Israelitish  extract,  who  are 
not  known  to  be  so,  either  by  themselves  or  others.  And  since  the 
posterity  of  Jacob  have  utterly  lost  their  genealogies,  it  was  impos- 
sible that  Ben  Ephraim  should  know  his  own  descent,  otherwise 
than  by  revelation,  or  be  able  to  make  it  out  to  others  but  by  the 
gifts  of  prophecy  and  miracles. 

"  And  these  gifts,  he  once  and  again,  before  very  credible  witness, 


576 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


Case  of 
Mr.  Long- 
loissorie, 
French 
instructor. 


APPENDIX,  declared  that  he  knew  by  revelation  he  should  shortly  be  endued 
^  with  from  on  high,  in  as  great  a  degree  as  ever  the  Apostles  were,  to 
say  nothing  more. 

"  These  extraordinary  things  Monsieur  did  not  broach  all  at  once, 
but  by  little  and  little;  the  most  plausible  of  them,  or  rather  some 
plausible  deductions  from  them,  first,  and  only  to  such  as  (to  use 
his  own  expression)  he  found  of  a  teachable  spirit;  till  at  length  the 
secrets  were  imparted  to  too  many  to  remain  such  any  longer. 

"  The  propagator  of  them,  now  waxed  bold,*  professed  the  strong- 
est assurance  imaginable  of  the  divine  original  of  his  dreams  and 
visions,  and  of  the  sacred  truths  of  those  doctrines  and  interpreta- 
tions of  Scripture  which  he  had  by  these  means  been  led  into ;  and 
sometimes  went  so  far  as  to  declare,  that,  if  the  event  should  prove 
these  things  to  be  delusions,  he  should  doubt  for  his  part  whether 
God  had  ever  made  any  revelations  at  all  to  men. 

"  We  soon  perceived,  that  too  great  a  respect  was  paid  by  several 
in  our  society,  and  elsewhere,  to  his  pretences  to  visions  and  revela- 
tions ;  that  one  of  his  greatest  confidents  began  to  be  favored  with 
visions  too,  in  his  own  conceit ;  and  that  others  were  in  suspense, 
whether  he  might  not  be  a  teacher  sent  from  God,  and  waited  with 
some  impatience  to  see  him  begin  to  prove  his  mission,  and  were 
likely  to  take  up  with  evidences  slight  enough. 

"  As  the  gentleman's  notions  were  now  no  longer  privacies,  it 
soon  appeared  that  they  had  been  industriously  spread  by  some 
among  their  friends,  in  places  far  and  near;  that  many  people's 
minds  were  greatly  moved  with  them  ;  and  strange  apprehensions 
and  expectations  raised,  of  what  these  things  would  come  to. 

"  It  would  be  beside  our  present  business  to  relate  by  what  means, 
through  the  good  providence  of  God,  it  was  at  length  made  mani- 
fest that  these  high  pretences  to  extraordinary  divine  communica- 
tions were  all  mere  delusions ;  and  so  the  minds  of  people  again 
quieted. 

"  It  would  be  of  more  importance  to  remark,  what  was  the  end 
of  these  tilings  with  respect  to  the  enthusiastic  gentleman  himself; 
namely,  that,  when  he  began  to  be  exalted  above  measure  with  the 
abundance  of  his  imaginary  revelations,  he  withdrew  himself  en- 
tirely from  the  public  worship  of  God,  which  he  before  diligently 
and  (so  far  as  appeared)  devoutly  used  to  attend ;  and  he  has  since 
returned  to  the  idolatries  of  the  church  of  Rome,  from  which  he 
had  professed  himself  a  sincere  convert." 


*  Longed  to  suffer  persecution." 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  577 

APPENDIX, 
No.  LXVII. 

No.  LXVII.  —See  p.  15. 

LAWS,  RULES    AND  SCHOLASTIC  FORMS,  ESTABLISHED  BY 
PRESIDENT  DUNSTER. 

"  Statuta,  Leges,  Privilegia,  et  Ordinationes,  per  Inspectores  et  Laws, 
Praesidem   Collegii    Harvardini    constitute   An.   Chr.    1642, 
1643,  1644,  1645,  1646,  et  promulgate  ad  scholarium  salu- 


tern  et  disciplinam  perpetuo  conservandam.  by  Presi- 

"  1.  Cuicunque  fuerit  peritia  legend!  Ciceronem  aut  quemvis  alium  ster. 
ejusmodi  classicum  authorem  ex  tempore,  et  congrue  loquendi  ac 
scribendi  Latine  facultas  oratione  tarn  soluta  quatn  ligata,  suo,  ut 
aiunt,  Marte,  et  ad  unguem  inflectendi  Graecorum  nominum  ver- 
borumque  paradigmata;  hie  admissionem  in  Collegium  jure  potest 
expectare.  Quicunque  vero  destitutus  fuerit  hac  peritia,  admissio- 
nem sibi  neutiquam  vendicet. 

"  2.  Considerate  unusquisque  ultimum  finem  vitas  ac  studiorum, 
cognitionem  nimirum  Dei  et  Jesu  Christi,  quae  est  vita  seterna.  Job. 
xvii.  3. 

"  3.  Cum  Deus  sapientiae  sit  largitor,  privatis  precibus  sapien- 
tiam  ab  eo  singuli  ardenter  petunto.  Prov.  ii.  2,  3,  &c. 

"  4.  In  Sacris  Scripturis  legendis  bis  quotidie  unusquisque  se  ex- 
erceto  ;  quo  paratus  ac  peritus  sit  rationern  reddendi  suorum  pro- 
fectuum,  tarn  in  theoreticis  philologicis  observationibus,  quam  in 
spiritualibus  practicis  documents,  quemadmodum  tutores  requirent 
pro  suo  cujusque  captu,  quum  '  aditus  verbi  illuminat.'  Psal.  cxix.  130. 

"  5.  In  publico  sanctorum  coetu  omnes  gestus,  qui  contemptum 
aut  neglectum  prae  se  ferunt  sacrarum  institutionum,  studiose  cavento, 
atque  ad  rationem  tutoribus  reddendam  quid  profecerint  parati 
sunto  ;  omnibusque  legitimis  sibi  scientiam  reponendi  mediis  utuntor, 
prout  a  suo  quisque  tutore  institutus  fuerit. 

"  6.  Omnem  profanationem  Sacrosancti  Dei  nominis,  attributorum, 
verbi,  institutionum  ac  temporum  cultus,  evitanto  ;  Deum  autem  et 
ejus  veritatem  in  notitia  retinere,  summa  cum  reverentia  et  timore, 
studento. 

"  7.  Honore  prosequuntor,  ut  parentes,  ita  magistratus,  presbyteros, 
tutores,  suosque  omnes  seniores,  prout  ratio  postulat;  coram  illis  ta- 
centes  nisi  interrogati,  nee  quicquam  contradicentes,  eis  exhibentes 
honoris  et  reverentiae  indicia  quaecunque  laudabili  usu  recepta  sunt, 
incurvato  nimirum  corpore  salutantes,  aperlo  capite  adstantes,  &c. 

VOL.  i.  73 


578 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  L.XVII. 

Laws, 
rules,  and 
scholastic 
forms, 
established 
by  Presi- 
dent Dun- 
ster. 


"  8.  Ad  loquendum  tardi  sunto ;  evitent  non  solum  juramenta, 
mendacia,  et  incertos  ruinores,  sed  et  stultiloquium,  scurriJitatem, 
futilitatem,  hisciviam,  omnesque  gestus  molestos. 

"  9.  Nequis  se  intrudat  vel  rebus  alienis  immisceat. 

"  10.  Dum  hie  egerint,  tempus  studiose  redimunto,  tarn  communes 
omnium  scholarium  horas,  quam  suis  prselectionibus  destinatas,  ob- 
servando;  przelectionibus  autem  diligenter  attendunto,  nee  voce  nee 
gestu  molesti.  Siquid  dubitent,  sodales  suos,  aut  (nondum  exempto 
scrupulo)  tutores  modeste  consulunto. 

"  11.  Nequis  sub  quovis  prsetextu  hominum,  quorum  perditi  sunt 
ac  discincti  mores,  consuetudine  seu  familiaritate  utitor.  Neque 
licebit  ulli,  nisi  potestate  ab  Inspectoribus  Collegii  facta,  bellicis 
lustrationibus  interesse.  Nemo  in  pupillari  statu  degens,  nisi  con- 
cessa  prius  a  tutore  venia,  ex  oppido  exeat ;  nee  quisquam,  cujus- 
cunque  gradus  aut  ordinis  fuerit,  forum  frequentet,  vel  diutius  in 
aliqua  oppidi  platea  moretur,  aut  tabernas,  cauponas,  vel  diversoria 
ad  comessandum  aut  bibendurn  accedat,  nisi  ad  parentes,  curatores, 
nutricios,  vel  hujusmodi,  accersitus  fuerit. 

"  12.  Nullus  scholaris  quicquam,  quod  sex  denarios  valeat,  nullo 
parentum,  curatorum,  aut  tutorum  approbante,  emito,  vendito,  aut 
comrnutato.  Quum  autem  secus  fecerit,  a  Praeside  pro  delicti 
ratione  multabitur. 

"  13.  Scholares  vernacula  lingua  intra  Collegii  limites  nullo  prse- 
textu utuntor,  nisi  ad  orationem  aut  aliud  aliquod  exercitium  pub- 
licum  Anglice  habendum  evocati  fuerint. 

"  14.  Siquis  scholarium  a  precibus  aut  praelectionibus  abfuerit,  nisi 
necessitate  coactus  aut  tutoris  nactus  veniam,  admonitioni  aut  alius- 
modi  pro  Praesidis  prudentia  prenae,  si  plus  quam  semel  in  hebdo- 
made  peccaverit,  erit  obnoxius. 

"  15.  Scholarium  quisque  donee  primo  gradu  ornetur,  ni  sit  com- 
mensalis,  aut  nobilis  alicujus  filius,  aut  militis  primogenitus,  suo  tan- 
turn  cognomine  vocator. 

"  16.  Nullus  scholaris  quavis  de  causa  (nisi  prtemonstrata  et 
approbata  Praesidi  vel  tutori  suo)  a  suis  studiis  statisve  exercitiis 
abesto,  excepta  hora  jentaculo,  semihora  merendae,  prandio  vero 
sesquihora,  pariter  et  ccenae  concessa. 

"  17.  Siquis  scholarium  ullam  Dei  et  hujus  Collegii  legem,  sive 
animo  perverso,  seu  ex  supina  negligentia,  violarit,  postqu am  fuerit 
bis  admonitus,  si  non  adultus,  virgis  coerceatur,  sin  adultus,  ad  In- 
spectores  Collegii  deferendus  erit,  ut  publice  in  eum  pro  meritis  ani- 
madversio  fiat ;  in  atrocioribus  autem  delictis,  ut  adeo  gradatim 


President 
nster. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  579 

procedatur,  nemo  expectet,  nee  ut  admonitio  iterata  super  eadem   APPENDIX, 
lege  necessario  fiat.  NQ.LXVII. 

"  18.  Quicunque  scholaris,  probatione  habita,  poterit  sacras  utri-   Laws> 

.  ~     .  ..,._...  rules,  and 

usque  instrument!  Scripturas  de  textu  onginali  Latme  mterpretan  et  scholastic 
logice   resolvere,  fueritque  naturalis  et  moralis  philosophic  principiis   tabTishedby 
imbutus,  vitaque  ac  moribus  inculpatus,  et  publicis  quibusvis  comi-   £rc 
tiis  ab   Inspectoribus   et  Preside   Collegii  approbatus,   primo  suo 
gradu  possit  ornari. 

"  19.  Quicunque  scholaris  scriptam  synopsin  vel  compendium  lo- 
gicse,  naturalis  ac  moralis  philosophise,  arithmetics,  geometric,  et 
astronomies  exhibuerit,  fueritque  ad  theses  suas  defendendas  paratus, 
nee  non  originalium  ut  supra  dictum  est  linguarum  peritus,  quern 
etiamnum  morum  integritas  ac  studiorum  diligentia  cohonestaverint, 
publicis  quibusvis  comitiis  probatione  facta,  secundi  gradus,  magis- 
terii  nimirum,  capax  erit." 


"IN  SCHOLARIBUS  ADMITTENDIS. 

"  1.  Prsebebis  omnimodam  debitam  reverentiam  honor  and  is  magis- 
tratibus  ac  reverendis  Presbyteris  et  Praesidi  Collegii  una  cum  Sociis 
singulis. 

"  2.  Debitam  diligentiam  studiis  incumbendo  adhibebis,  studiis 
inquam  linguarum  et  artium  liberalium,  obsequendo  tutori  tuo  et 
salutaribus  ejus  praeceptis,  quamdiu  in  statu  pupillari  versatus  fueris 
in  hoc  Collegio. 

"  3.  Religiose  in  te  suscipies  curam,  dum  hie  commoraberis,  ob- 
servandi  singulas  salutares  leges,  statuta,  et  privilegia  hujus  societatis 
quantum  in  te  situm  est ;  atque  etiam,  ut  observentur  ab  omnibus  hujus 
Collegii  membris  in  singulo  uniuscujusque  munere,  fideliter  curabis. 

"  4.  Sedulo  prospicies  nequid  detriment!  Collegium  capiat,  quan- 
tum in  te  situm  est,  sive  in  ejus  sumptibus,  sive  in  sedificio  et  struc- 
tura,  fundis,  proventibus,  caeterisque  omnibus,  qua?  nunc  ad  Collegium 
pertinent,  aut,  dum  hie  egeris,  pertinere  possunt. 

"  duod  ad  nos,  Prassidem  et  Socios  scilicet,  spectat,  pollicemur  nos 
tibi  non  defuturos  quibuscunque  nostra  intererit ;  imo  vero  in  studiis 
tuis  et  pietate  progressum,  quantum  in  nobis  fuerit,  promovebimus." 


"  SOCIIS  ADMITTENDIS. 

"  1.  Prrebebis  omnimodam  debitam  reverentiam  honorandis  magis- 
tratibus  ac  reverendis  Presbyteris  et  Prassidi,  Collegii  Inspectoribus. 


580  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,       "  2.  Religiose  in  te  suscipies  curam,  dum  hie  commoraberis,  obser- 

NO. LXVII.  van(ji  sjngulas  salutares  leges,  statuta,  et  privilegia  hujus  societatis, 

Jules'*' and  cluantum  in  te  situm  est,  atque  etiam,  ut  observentur  ab  omnibus 

scholastic  hujus  Collegii  membris  in  singulo  uniuscuiusque  munere. 

forms,  68-  i  n    f\  •         i 

tablishedby  o-  Uranes  et  singulos  studentes,  qui  tutelae  tuae  committuntur 
aut  'n  posterum  committendi  sunt,  ut  promoveas  in  omni  tam  divina 
quam  humana  literatura,  pro  suo  cujusque  captu,  atque,  ut  moribus 
honeste  et  inculpate  se  gerant,  summopere  curabis. 

"  4.  Sedulo  prospicies,  nequid  detriment!  Collegium  capiat,  quan- 
tum in  te  situm  est,  sive  in  ejus  sumptibus,  sive  in  sedificio  et  struc- 
tura,  fundis,  proventibus,  creterisque  omnibus,  quae  nunc  ad  Colle- 
gium pertinent,  aut,  dum  hie  egeris,  pertinere  possint. 

"  Quod  etiam  ad  nos  (Collegii  Inspectores)  spectat,  pollicemur 
nos  non  tibi  defuturos  esse,  quibuscunque  tua  intererit ;  imo  ver6 
te  confirmabimus  authoritate  ac  potestate  nostra  in  omnibus  tuis 
legitimis  administrationibus,  contra  quoscunque  contumaces.  Et 
pro  Collegii  facultatibus  erogabimus  tibi  idonea  stipendia  (i.  e.  pro 
modulo  nostro),  quae  sufficiant  ad  victum  et  amictum  et  literaturam 
tuam  promovendam." 


"  PR-ESENTATIO  BACCALAUREORUM. 

"  Honorandi  viri,  vosque,  reverendi  Presbyteri,  prassento  vobis 
hosce  juvenes,  quos  scio  tam  doctrina  quam  moribus  idoneos  esse 
ad  primum  in  artibus  gradum  suscipiendum  pro  more  Academia- 
rum  in  Anglia." 

"  ADMISSIO. 

"  Admitto  te  ad  primum  gradum  in  artibus,  scil.  ad  responden- 
dum  quagstioni  pro  more  Academiarum  in  Anglia,  tibique  trado 
hunc  librum  una  cum  potestate  publice  praelegendi  (in  aliqua  ar- 
tiutn,  quam  profiteris)  quotiescunque  ad  hoc  munus  evocatus  fueris." 

"  PR^ESENTATIO  MAGISTRORUM. 

"  Honorandi  viri,  vosque,  reverendi  Presbyteri,  praesento  vobis 
hosce  viros,  quos  scio  tam  doctrina  quam  moribus  esse  idoneos  ad 
incipiendum  in  artibus  pro  more  Academiarum  in  Anglia." 

«  ADMISSIO  INCEPTORUM. 
"  Admitto  te  ad  secundum  gradum  in  artibus  pro  more  Acade- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  581 

miarum  in  Anglia ;  tibique  trado  hunc  librum  una  cum  potestate  APPENDIX, 
publice  profitendi,  ubicunque  ad  hoc  inunus  publice  evocatus  fueris."     °'  LXVIL 

Laws, 

"  FORMULA  PUBLICS  CONFESSIONIS.  sc&astic 

forms,  es- 

"  Ego,  S.  W.,  qui  a  cultu  divino  in  aula  Collegii  tarn  matutino  President 
quatn  vespertino  toties  per  aliquot  menses  abfui    (in  qua  absentia  Dunster- 
monitis  et  aliis  in   me  animadversionum  gradibus  non  obstantibus 
hactenus  perstiti),  nunc    culpam  meam  agnosco,  et  publicae  agni- 
tionis  hoc  testimonio  me  reum  profiteer,  et  majorem  in  his  exercitiis 
pietatis   diligentiam   in    posterum    (Deo  volente),  dum   hie   egero, 
polliceor." 


CERTIFICATE  FOR  AN  UNDERGRADUATE. 

"  Per  integrum  biennium  quo  apud  nos  pupillari  statu  commoratus 
est  A.  B.,  Collegii  Harvardini  Cantabrigiae  in  Nov-Anglia  alumnus, 
publicas  lectiones  tarn  philologicas  quam  philosophicas  audivit,  nec- 
non  declamationibus,  disputationibus,  cseterisque  exercitiis,  pro  sui 
temporis  ratione  adeo  incubuit,  ut  nobis  certam  spem  fecerit  ilium 
suis  coaetaneis  etiam  in  aliis  collegiis  (si  admissus  fuerit)  non  dis- 
parem  fore,  Quapropter  hoc  de  illo  testimonium  omnibus,  quorum 
interesse  possit.perhibemus  nos, quorum  nomina  subscripta  surit. 

"  Datum." 

CERTIFICATE  FOR  A  BACHELOR  OF  ARTS. 

"  Per  integrum  illud  tempus  quo  apud  nos  commoratus  est  C.  D., 
Collegii  Harvardini  Cantabrigiie  in  Nov-Anglia  alumnus,  et  in  arti- 
bus  liberalibus  Baccalaureus,  bonarum  literarum  studiis  vitas  pro- 
bitatem  adjunxit ;  adeo  ut  nobis  spem  amplam  fecerit  se  in  Ecclesiae 
et  Reipublicae  commodum  victurum.  Quapropter  hoc  de  illo  testi- 
monium omnibus,  quorum  interesse  possit,  perhibemus  nos,  quorum 
nomina  subscripta  sunt. 

"  Datum." 

CERTIFICATE  FOR  A  MASTER  OF  ARTS. 

"  Per  integrum  illud  tempus  quo  apud  nos  commoratus  est  E.  F., 
Collegii  Harvardini  Cantabrigioe  in  Nov-Anglia  alumnus,  et  in 
artibus  liberalibus  Magister,  bonarum  literarum  studiis  seduld  in- 
cubuit, sinceram  verge  fidei  professionem  inculpatis  suse  vita?  mori- 


582  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  bus  exornavit,  adeo  ut  nobis  certam  et  araplam  spem  fecerit  se  in 

ni'_  Ecclesiae    et    Reipublicaj    commodum   victurum.     Quapropter  hoc 

L:)ws'    d  ^e  *^°  testimomum   omnibus,  quorum  interesse  possit,  perhibemus 

scholastic  nos.quorum  nomina  subscripta  sunt. 

forms,  es-  ,,  r\  *         » 

tablishedby  Datum." 

President 
Dunster. 

"  BACCALAUREORUM  PR^SENTATIO.    - 

"  Supplicat  Reverentiis  vestris  A.  B.,  ut  quadriennium  ab  ad- 
missione  completum,  quo  ordinarias  lectiones  audiverit  una  cum 
disputationibus,  declamationibus,  caeterisque  exercitiis  per  statuta 
Col.  requisitis  (licet  non  omnino  secundum  formam  statuti),sufficiat 
ei  ad  primum  gradum  in  artibus  suscipiendum." 

"  MAG.  PR^ESENTATIO  IN  ANGL. 

"  Supplicat  Reverentiis  vestris  N.  N.,  ut  novem  termini  completi 
post  finalem  ejus  determinationem,  in  quibus  ordinarias  lectiones  audi- 
verit (licet  non  omnino  secundum  formam  statuti)  una  cum  omnibus 
oppositionibus,  responsionibus,  declamationibus,  caeterisque  exercitiis 
per  statuta  regia  requisitis,  sufficiant  ei  ad  incipiendum  in  artibus." 


«  CERTAIN  ORDERS  BY  THE  SCHOLARS  AND  OFFICERS  OF 
THE  COLLEGE  TO  BE  OBSERVED,  WRITTEN  28™  MARCH, 
1650. 

"  The  Steward,  receiving  a  just  and  clear  account  of  the  visible 
store  or  treasury  of  the  College,  as  it  is  a  society,  either  in  visible 
provisions,  or  in  debts  acknowledged  or  proved,  due  by  the  members 
of  the  society,  shall  be  bound  with  sufficient  security,  quarterly  to 
give  an  account  thereof  within  ten  days  to  the  President,  when  he 
shall  require  it,  together  with  the  just  and  necessary  disbursements, 
which  by  the  President's  allowance  have  been  issued  out  (for  neces- 
sary provisions)  to  the  steward  himself,  butler,  cook,  or  any  other 
officer  of  the  House,  as  also  to  and  for  the  necessary  provisions  of 
fuel,  reparations  of  outworn  utensils,  &c.,  towards  all  which  charges 
the  steward  is  to  see  (besides  the  stock  maintained)  that  one  third 
part  be  reserved  of  all  payments  to  him  by  the  members  of  the  House 
quarterly  made,  and  the  other  two  parts  in  suitable  provisions  to  the 
scholars  to  be  returned  as  the  season  and  state  of  the  year  doth 
require,  and  answerably  thereto  shall  deliver  in  such  provisions  to 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  583 

the  cook  and  butler,  or   brewer  and  baker,   and  of  them  require  APPENDIX, 

,  ,  ,  NO.LXVII. 

weekly  or  quarterly  accounts.  

"  Forasmuch  as  the  students,  whose  friends  are  most  careful  to   L^ws; 

rules,  and 

discharge  their  due  expenses,  have  sundry  times  sorely  and  unjustly   scholastic 
suffered  by  such  as  neglect  to  pay  their  debts ;  therefore  the  steward   tablishedby 
shall  not  permit,  but  upon  his  own  peril,  any  students  to  be  above   Diunster"1 
two  pounds  indebted,  but,  acquainting  the  President,  with  his  leave 
send  them  to  their  friends,  if  not  above  a  day's  journey  distant;  if 
otherwise,  then  shall  the  steward,  at  the  admission  of  such  scholars, 
inform  himself  from  whom  he  shall  be  supplied,  or  to  whom  they 
shall  have  recourse  in  the  aforesaid  case  of  debt;  neither  is  the 
steward  at  any  time  to  take  any  pay  that  is  useless,  hazardful,  or 
importing  detriment  to  the  College,  as  lean  cattle  to  feed,  turning 
over  of  bills  to  shops,  &,c.,  but  at  his  own  discretion  and  peril. 

"  Whereas  young  scholars,  to  the  dishonor  of  God,  hinderance 
of  their  studies,  and  damage  of  their  friends'  estate,  inconsiderately 
and  intemperately  are  ready  to  abuse  their  liberty  of  sizing  besides 
their  commons ;  therefore  the  steward  shall  in  no  case  permit  any 
students  whatever,  under  the  degree  of  Masters  of  Art,  or  Fellows, 
to  expend  or  be  provided  for  themselves  or  any  townsmen  any  ex- 
traordinary commons,  unless  by  the  allowance  of  the  President  or 
two  of  the  Fellows,  whereof  their  Tutor  always  to  be  one,  or  in  case 
of  manifest  sickness,  presignified  also  unto  the  President,  or  in  case 
of  a  license,  of  course  granted  by  the  President  to  some  persons 
whose  condition  he  seeth  justly  requiring  it. 

"  The  butler  and  cook  are  to  look  unto,  and,  in  case  detriment 
befall,  fully  to  be  accountable  for,  all  the  College's  vessels  and  utensils, 
great  and  small,  delivered  by  inventory  unto  them,  and  once  every 
quarter  to  deliver  in  unto  the  President  in  writing  an  inventory 
thereof,  particularly  showing  what  detriment  is  befallen  the  College, 
in  what  particular,  and  by  what  means,  whether  by  wearth  in  their 
just  usage  (which  the  steward  is  to  repair  by  the  College  charges), 
or  by  any  abuse  of  any  person  or  persons  whatever,  from  whom  the 
President  shall  see  that  the  butler  and  cook  shall  have  just  and  full 
recompense,  if  they  be  members  of  the  society ;  but,  if  detriment 
come  by  any  out  of  the  society,  then  those  officers  themselves  shall 
be  responsible  to  the  House  ;  because  they  may  not  but  at  their  peril 
communicate  any  thing  that  is  the  College's  to  any  without. 

"  Item.  They  are  to  see,  that  the  said  utensils,  to  their  several 
offices  belonging,  from  day  to  day  be  kept  clean  and  sweet  and  fit 
for  use,  and  they  shall  at  meal-times  deliver  them  out  as  the  public 


584  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  service  of  the  Hall  requireth  to  the  servitor  or  servitors,  who  shall 

NO.  LXVII.  kg  responsible  for  them  until  that  they  return  them  after  meals  to 

Laws,  tne  butteries  or  kitchen  ;  but  they  are  not  bound  to  keep  or  cleanse 

rules,  and 

scholastic  any  particular  scholar's  spoons,  cups,  or  such  like,  but  at  their  own 

forms,  es-  ,. 

tablishedby  discretion. 


any  scn°lar  or  scholars  at  any  time  take  away  or  detain 
any  vessel  of  the  College's,  great  or  small,  from  the  Hall  out  of  the 
doors  from  the  sight  of  the  buttery  hatch  without  the  butler's  or 
servitor's  knowledge,  or  against  their  will,  he  or  they  shall  be  pun- 
ished three  pence,  but  more  at  the  President's  discretion,  if  perverse- 
ness  appear.  But,  if  he  or  they  shall  presume  to  detain  any  vessel, 
great  or  small,  that  it  be  wanting  the  next  meal,  he  shall  be  pun- 
ished the  full  value  thereof;  and,  in  case  any  shall  lose,  mar,  or  spoil 
any  such  vessels,  then  shall  they  pay  double  thereof;  and,  if  they  con- 
ceal it  until  by  examination  it  be  found  out  fourfold  the  value  thereof. 

"  The  butler  and  cook  shall  see  that  all  the  rooms  peculiar  to  their 
offices,  together  with  their  appurtenances  be  daily  set  and  kept  in 
order,  clean  and  sweet  from  all  manner  of  noisomeness  and  nasti- 
ness  or  sensible  offensiveness.  To  the  butler  belongs  the  cellar  and 
butteries,  and  all  from  thenceforth  to  the  farthest  end  of  the  Hall, 
with  the  south  porch  ;  to  the  cook  the  kitchen,  larder,  and  the  way 
leading  to  his  hatch,  the  turret,  and  the  north  alley  unto  the  walk  ; 
neither  shall  the  butler  or  cook  suffer  any  scholar  or  scholars  what- 
ever, except  the  Fellows,  Masters  of  Art,  fellow  commoners,  or 
officers  of  the  House,  to  come  into  the  butteries  or  kitchen,  save  with 
their  parents  or  guardians,  or  with  some  grave  and  sober  strangers  ; 
and,  if  any  shall  presume  to  thrust  in,  they  shall  have  three  pence  on 
their  heads  ;  but,  if  presumptuous  •  and  continually  they  shall  so 
dare  to  offend,  they  shall  be  liable  to  an  admonition  and  to  other 
proceedings  of  the  College  discipline,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Presi- 
dent. 

"  The  butler  upon  every  sixth  day  of  the  week  at  noon  is  to  give 
an  account  to  every  scholar  demanding  his  week's  sizings  in  the 
buttery,  and  is  not  bound  to  stay  above  half  an  hour  at  bevers  in 
the  buttery  after  the  tolling  of  the  bell,  nor  above  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  after  thanksgiving  in  the  Hall  at  meals.  The  cook  on  the 
sixth  day  at  noon  shall  give  in  the  week's  expenses  of  the  whole 
society,  which  the  butler  shall  enter  into  his  book,  according  to 
custom,  and  shall  keep  the  bills  from  quarter  to  quarter,  and  show 
them  to  the  steward  at  his  demand  for  his  satisfaction. 

"  The  butler  and  cook  may  not  deliver  at  meal-times,  save  in  case 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  585 

of  sickness,  or  just  cause,  to  the  President  (if  it  may  be)  presigni-  APPENDIX, 
fied,  and  by  him  allowed,  any  commons  to  any  scholars,  save  unto    No- LXVIT. 

the  servitor,  nor  see  to  any  save  their  dues  to  the  scholars  sitting   Laws, 

rules,  and 
orderly  in  their  places,  in  the  Hall ;  neither  may  any  scholar  rise  scholastic 

from  his  place  or  go  out  of  the  Hall  at  meal-times  before  thanks-  tabljshedby 
giving   be   ended,    unless  liberty   be    given    by    the  President,    if   President 
present,  or    the    senior   Fellow,  or   such   as  for  that  time  possess 
their  place. 

"  If  any  officer  of  the  College  whatsoever  shall  make  any  secret 
contract  with  any  scholar  or  scholars,  either  to  conceal  their  dis- 
orderly walking  or  to  draw  from  them  any  valuable  things,  as  books, 
wearing  apparel,  bedding,  or  such  like,  by  any  direct  or  indirect 
course,  not  before  allowed  by  the  President  or  their  Tutor,  the  said 
officer  or  officers  shall  be  liable  to  be  punished  at  the  discretion  of 
the  President. 

"  Whereas  much  inconvenience  falleth  out  by  the  scholars  bring- 
ing candles  in  course  into  the  Hall,  therefore  the  butler  hence- 
forth shall  receive  at  the  President's  or  steward's  hands  twenty 
shillings  in  money,  ten  at  the  thirteenth  of  September,  and  ten  at 
the  thirteenth  of  December,  toward  candles  for  the  Hall  for  prayer 
time  and  supper,  which,  that  it  may  not  be  burdensome,  it  shall 
be  put  proportionably  upon  every  scholar  who  retaineth  his  seat  in 
the  buttery." 


THE  FORM  OF  EXEMPTION  FOR  COLLEGE  SERVANTS. 

"  Whereas  our  much  honored  magistrates  and  deputies  in  General 
Court  assembled,  in  the  third  month  of  the  year  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  fifty,  have,  for  the  furtherance  of  good  literature,  by 
charter  privileged  the  officers  and  servants  of  Harvard  College  to 
the  number  of  ten  from  all  personal  offices,  civil  and  military  exer- 
cises and  services,  watching  and  wardings,  and  their  estates,  not 
exceeding  a  hundred  pounds  a  man,  from  all  country  rates  and 
taxes  whatever  ; 

"  We  therefore,  A.  B.  C.,  having  chosen  our  well-approved  neigh- 
bour D.  E.  to  serve  us  for  the  space  of  one  whole  year  from  the  date 
hereof,  in  his  calling  of  F.,  to  attend  the  College  work  upon  a  week 
or  ten  days'  warning,  so  often  as  thereunto  he  shall  be  called,  do 
by  virtue  of  the  privileges  given  unto  us,  exempt  the  aforesaid  D.  E. 
from  all  the  aforementioned  incumbrances  and  charges,  in  witness 
whereof  we  have  given,  and  he  hath  accepted,  these  presents  signed 
with  our  hands.  " 

VOL.  i.  74 


586  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LXVIII. 

No.  LX  VI1L*  —  See  pp.  15,  33,  38, 68,  84,  90, 100, 108,  159. 

ACTS  RELATING  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOV- 
ERNMENT OF  THE  COLLEGE  FROM   1636  TO   1780. 


GRANTS  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT. 

["At  a  Court  holden  September  8th,  1636, and  continued  by  adjournment 
to  the  28th  of  the  8th  month  (October,  1636). 

"  The  Court  agreed  to  give  £  400  towards  a  School  or  College,  whereof 
£  200  to  be  paid  next  year,  and  £  200  when  the  work  is  finished,  and  the 
next  Court  to  appoint  where  and  what  building."  —  Records  of  the  General 
Court,  Vol.  I.  p.  183. 

"  At  a  General  Court,  holden  at  Newtown  on  the  2d  of  the  9th  month 
(November  2d)  1637. 
"  The  College  ordered  to  be  at  Newtown."  —  Ibid.  p.  204. 

"  For  the  College,  the  Governor,  Mr.  Winthrop,  the  Deputy,  Mr.  Dud- 
ley, the  Treasurer,  Mr.  Bellingham,  Mr.  Humphrey,  Mr.  Herlakenden, 
Mr.  Stoughton,  Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Wilson,  Mr.  Davenport,  Mr.  Welde,  Mr. 
Shepard,  and  Mr.  Peters,  these,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  whereof  Mr. 
Winthrop,  Mr.  Dudley,  or  Mr.  Bellingham,  to  be  always  one,  to  take  order 
for  a  College  at  Newtown."—  Ibid.  p.  213. 

"At  a  Court,  holden  the  13th  of  the  first  month  (March)  1638-9. 
"  It  is  ordered,  that  the  College  agreed  upon  formerly  to  be  built  at  Cam- 
bridge, shall  be  called  Harvard  College."  —  Ibid.  p.  241. 

"  At  a  Court,  holden  the  7th  day  of  the  8th  month  (October),  1640. 
"  The  ferry  between  Boston  and  Charlestown  is  granted  to  the  College." 
—  Ibid.  p.  288.] 


*  This  Number  presents,  in  chronological  order,  all  acts  passed,  and  bills  pro- 
posed, in  relation  to  the  constitution  and  government  of  Harvard  College, 
from  its  foundation  in  1636  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts 
in  1780.  Those  acts  or  parts  of  acts,  which  were  never  in  force,  or,  if  so, 
only  temporarily,  or  which  were  not  general  in  their  character,  are  printed  in 
smaller  type,  and  included  in  brackets.  Those  in  larger  type,  include  all  acts 
or  parts  of  acts,  which  were  regarded  during  the  Colonial  period  of  Massachu- 
setts as  the  Constitution  of  the  College,  and  comprehend  the  "  general  Char- 
ters," referred  to  in  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  Chap.  V.  Sect.  I.  Art. 
II.  All  these  acts  and  bills  have  been  carefully  compared  with  the  originals,  in 
the  records  or  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  587 

APPENDIX. 
THE  ACT  ESTABLISHING  THE  OVERSEERS  OF  HARVARD         No.LXVIll. 


COLLEGE* 


"  At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston  in  the  year  1642.       The  act 
"  Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  us,  there  is  a  fh^jj1,.™ 
College  founded  in  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  called   seers  of 
HARVARD  COLLEGE,  for  the  encouragement  whereof  this  Court  has   College, 
given  the  sum  of  four  hundred  pounds,  and  also  the  revenue  of  the        '42' 
ferry  betwixt  Charlestown  and  Boston,  and  that  the  well  ordering 
and  managing  of  the  said  College  is  of  great  concernment  ; 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court,  and  the  authority  thereof, 
that  the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor  for  the  time  being,  and  all 
the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  together  with  the  teaching 
elders  of  the  six  next  adjoining  towns,  viz.  Cambridge,  Watertowu, 
Charlestown,  Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  and  the  President 
of  the  said  College  for  the  time  being,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  make  and  establish  all  such  orders, 
statutes,  and  constitutions,  as  they  shall  see  necessary  for  the  in- 
stituting, guiding,  and  furthering  of  the  said  College,  and  the 


*  The  above  act  has  been  carefully  copied  from  the  act  printed  in  "  The  Gen- 
eral Laws  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  revised  and  published  by  order  of  the 
General  Court,  in  October,  1658." 

This  was  "  the  second  impression"  of  the  laws  of  the  Colony,  and  a  copy  of 
it  is  now  preserved  in  the  Law  Library  of  Harvard  College.  Having  been 
revised  and  published  by  the  authority  of  the  General  Court,  at  that  early 
period,  the  above  may  well  be  regarded  as  the  exact  and  authentic  College 
charter  of  1642. 

It  is,  however,  deemed  proper  to  subjoin  the  act  as  it  was  originally  passed 
by  the  General  Court,  not  only  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  and  of  history,  but  be- 
cause, in  the  controversy  between  Dr.  Cutler  (see  above,  p.  560)  and  the  Over- 
seers (see  above,  p.  566)  both  parties  obviously  made  use  of  that  original  draft 
as  it  stands  in  the  Records  of  the  General  Court  (Vol.  II.  p.  24),  in  the 
words  following. 

"  At  a  General  Court  at  Boston,  the  8th  of  the  7th  month,  1642. 

"  Whereas,  by  order  of  the  Court  in  the  7th  month,  1636,  there  was  ap- 
pointed and  named  six  magistrates  and  six  elders,  to  order  the  College  at 
Cambridge,  of  which  twelve  some  are  removed  out  of  this  jurisdiction. 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the  Governor  and  Deputy  for  the  time  being, 
and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  together  with  the  teaching  elders 
of  the  six  next  adjoining  towns,  that  is,  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charlestown, 
Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  and  the  President  of  the  College  for  the  time 
being,  shall  have,  from  time  to  time,  full  power  and  authority  to  make  and 


588  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   several  members  thereof,  from  time  to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and 

1^ |  learning ;  as  also   to  dispose,  order,   and  manage,  to   the  use   and 

Tl?eu?-ctu-       behoof  of  the  said    College,  and  the  members  thereof,    all    gifts, 

establishing 

the  Over-      legacies,  bequeaths,  revenues,  lands,  and  donations,  as  either  have 
Harvard        been,  are,  or  shall  be,  conferred,  bestowed,  or  any  ways  shall  fall, 

or  come'  to  the  said  Colle£e- 

"  And  whereas  it  may  come  to  pass,  that  many  of  the  said  magis- 
trates and  said  elders  may  be  absent,  or  otherwise  employed  about 
other  weighty  affairs,  when  the  said  College  may  need  their  present 
help  and  counsel,  —  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the  greater  number 
of  said  magistrates  and  elders,  which  shall  be  present,  with  the 
President,  shall  have  the  power  of  the  whole.  Provided,  that  if  any 
constitution,  order,  or  orders,  by  them  made,  shall  be  found  hurtful 
to  the  said  College,  or  the  members  thereof,  or  to  the  weal-public, 
then,  upon  appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  grieved,  unto  the  company 
of  Overseers,  first  mentioned,  they  shall  repeal  the  said  order,  or 
orders,  if  they  shall  see  cause,  at  their  next  meeting,  or  stand  ac- 
countable thereof  to  the  next  General  Court." 


.  establish  all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  constitutions,  as  they  shall  see  necessary 
for  the  instituting,  guiding,  and  furthering  of  the  said  College,  and  the  sev- 
eral members  thereof,  from  time  to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and  learning; 
as  also  that  they  shall  have  full  power  to  dispose,  order,  and  manage,  to  the 
use  and  behoof  of  the  said  College  and  members  thereof,  all  gifts,  legacies, 
bequeathalls,  revenues,  lands,  and  donations,  as  either  have  been,  are,  or 
shall  be,  conferred,  bestowed,  or  any  ways  shall  fall  to  the  said  College. 

"  And  whereas  it  may  come  to  pass,  that  many  of  the  said  magistrates 
and  elders  may  be  absent,  or  otherwise  employed  in  weighty  affairs,  when 
the  said  College  needs  their  present  help,  counsel,  and  authority;  —  Therefore 
it  is  ordered,  that  the  greater  number  of  the  said  magistrates,  elders,  and 
President,  shall  have  the  power  of  the  whole.  Provided  also,  that  if  any 
constitution,  order,  or  orders,  shall  be  made,  that  is  found  hurtful  to  the  said 
College,  or  the  members  thereof,  or  to  the  weal-public,  that  then,  upon  the 
appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  aggrieved  to  the  said  Overseers,  they  shall 
repeal  the  said  order,  or  orders,  at  their  next  meeting,  or  stand  accountable 
thereof  to  the  next  General  Court." 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  589 

APPENDIX, 

THE  CHARTER  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOWS  OF  HAR-  No.LXVHl. 
VARD  COLLEGE,  UNDER  THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COLONY  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS  BAY,  AND  BEARING  DATE,  MAY  30™,  A.  D. 
1650.* 

"  Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God,  many  well-devoted  The  char- 
persons  have  been,  and  daily  are,  moved,  and  stirred  up,  to  give  and 
bestow,  sundry  gifts,  legacies,  lands,  and  revenues,  for  the  advance- 
ment of  all  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences,  in  Harvard  College, 
in  Cambridge  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  and  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  President  and  Fellows,  and  for  all  accommodations  of  build- 
ings, and  all  other  necessary  provisions,  that  may  conduce  to  the 
education  of  the  English  and  Indian  youth  of  this  country,  in 
knowledge  and  godliness. 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered  and  enacted  by  this  Court,  and  the  au- 
thority thereof,  that  for  the  furthering  of  so  good  a  work,  and  for 
the  purposes  aforesaid,  from  henceforth  that  the  said  College,  in 
Cambridge  in  Middlesex,  in  New  England,  shall  be  a  Corporation, 
consisting  of  seven  persons,  to  wit,  a  President,  five  Fellows,  and  a 
Treasurer  or  Bursar ;  and  that  Henry  Dunster  shall  be  the  first 
President ;  Samuel  Mather,  Samuel  Danforth,  Masters  of  Art, " 
Jonathan  Mitchell,  Comfort  Starr,  and  Samuel  Eaton,  Bachelors 
of  Art,  shall  be  the  five  Fellows ;  and  Thomas  Danforth  to  be 
present  Treasurer,  all  of  them  being  inhabitants  in  the  Bay,  and 
shall  be  the  first  seven  persons  of  which  the  said  Corporation  shall 
consist ;  and  that  the  said  seven  persons,  or  the  greater  number 
of  them,  procuring  the  presence  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College, 
and  by  their  counsel  and  consent,  shall  have  power,  and  are  hereby 
authorized,  at  any  time,  or  times,  to  elect  a  new  President,  Fellows, 
or  Treasurer,  so  oft,  and  from  time  to  time,  as  any  of  the  said 
persons  shall  die,  or  be  removed ;  which  s«.id  President  and  Fel- 
lows, for  the  time  being,  shall  for  ever  hereafter,  in  name  and 
fact,  be  one  body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  ;  and  shall  have  perpetual  succession  ;  and  shall  be  called 
by  the  name  of  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  and 


*  This  charter  is  thus  introduced  on  the  Records  of  the  General  Court, 
Vol.  IV.  p.  10.  "  At  a  General  Court  of  elections,  held  at  Boston,  22d  May, 
1650.  In  answer  to  the  petition  of  Henry  Dunster,  President  of  Harvard 

College, and  to  his  desires  for  a  Corporation,  the  Court  doth  grant 

his  request  in  these  terms.     Whereas,"  &c. 


590  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,   shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  eligible  as  aforesaid,  and  by  that  name 

No.  LXVIIL      ,  ,      ,     . 

,   they,  and  their  successors,  shall  and  may  purchase  and  acquire  to 

The  char-  themselves,  or  take  and  receive  upon  free  gift  and  donation,  any 
1650.  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  within  this  jurisdiction  of  the 
Massachusetts,  not  exceeding  five  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  and 
any  goods  and  sums  of  money  whatsoever,  to  the  use  and  behoof 
of  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars  of  the  said  College ; 
and  also  may  sue  and  plead,  or  be  sued  and  impleaded  by  the  name 
aforesaid,  in  all  Courts  and  places  of  judicature,  within  the  juris- 
diction aforesaid. 

"  And  that  the  said  President,  with  any  three  of  the  Fellows, 
shall  have  power,  and  are  hereby  authorized,  when  they  shall  think 
fit,  to  make  and  appoint  a  common  seal  for  the  use  of  the  said  Cor- 
poration. And  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  major  part  of  them, 
from  time  to  time,  may  meet  and  choose  such  officers  and  servants 
for  the  College,  and  make  such  allowance  to  them,  and  them  also 
to  remove,  and  after  death,  or  removal,  to  choose  such  others,  and 
to  make,  from  time  to  time,  such  orders  and  by-laws,  for  the  better 
ordering,  and  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall 
think  fit ;  provided,  the  said  orders  be  allowed  by  the  Overseers. 
'  And  also,  that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  major  part  of  them 
with  the  Treasurer,  shall  have  power  to  make  conclusive  bargains 
for  lands  and  tenements,  to  be  purchased  by  the  said  Corporation, 
for  valuable  consideration. 

"  And  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  government  of  the  said 
College  and  Corporation,  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  the  President,  and  three  more  of  the  Fellows,  shall  and  may, 
from  time  to  time,  upon  due  warning  or  notice  given  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  rest,  hold  a  meeting,  for  the  debating  and  concluding 
of  affairs  concerning  the  profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands,  and 
disposing  of  their  goods  (provided  that  all  the  said  disposings  be 
according  to  the  will  of  the  donors) ;  and  for  direction  in  all  emer- 
gent occasions ;  execution  of  all  orders  and  by-laws ;  and  for  the 
procuring  of  a  general  meeting  of  all  the  Overseers  and  Society,  in 
great  and  difficult  cases ;  and  in  case  of  non-agreement ;  in  all 
which  cases  aforesaid,  the  conclusion  shall  be  made  by  the  major 
part,  the  said  President  having  a  casting  voice,  the  Overseers 
consenting  thereunto ;  and  that  all  the  aforesaid  transactions  shall 
tend  to  and  for  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  President,  Fellows, 
scholars,  and  officers  of  the  said  College,  and  for  all  accommoda- 
tions of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other  necessary  provisions  and 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  591 

furnitures,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education  of  youth,  APPENDIX, 
in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences.     And  further,   No-LXVII]- 
be  it  ordered  by  this  Court,  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  all  the   The  char- 
lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments,  houses,  or  revenues,  within  this      1650. 
jurisdiction,  to  the  aforesaid  President  or  College  appertaining,  not 
exceeding  the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  shall,  from 
henceforth,  be  freed  from  all  civil  impositions,  taxes,  and  rates ;  all 
goods  to  the  said  Corporation,  or  to  any  scholars  thereof  appertain- 
ing, shall  be  exempted  from  all  manner  of  toll,  customs,  and  excise 
whatsoever.     And  that  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and   scholars, 
together  with  the  servants,  and  other  necessary  officers  to  the  said 
President,  or  College  appertaining,  not  exceeding  ten,  viz.  three  to 
the   President,    and  seven  to  the  College   belonging,  shall  be  ex- 
empted from  all  personal  civil  offices,  military  exercises,  or  services, 
watchings,  and  wardings;  and  such  of  their  estates,  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  pounds  a  man,  shall  be  free  from  all  country  taxes  or 
rates  whatsoever,  and  no  other. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  the  Court  hath  caused  the  seal  of  the  colony 
to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Dated  the  one  and  thirtieth  day  of  the 
third  month,  called  May,  anno  1650. 

THOMAS    DUDLEY,    Governor." 


[A  copy  of  the  original,  engrossed  on  parchment,  under  the  sig- 
nature of  Governor  Dudley,  with  the  colony  seal  appendant,  is  in 
the  custody  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College.] 


AN  APPENDIX  TO  THE  COLLEGE  CHARTER,  GRANTED  BY  AN 
ACT  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT  OF  THE  COLONY,  PASSED 
ANNO  1657. 

"  At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston  the  14th  of  Oct.  1657.        An  Appen- 
"  In  answer  to  certain  proposals,  presented  to  this  Court  by  the   College 
Overseers   of   Harvard   College,   as   an  Appendix  to  the   College 
Charter  it  is  ordered,  The  Corporation  shall  have  power,  from  time 
V)  time,  to  make  such  orders  and  by-laws,  for  the  better  ordering 
and  carrying  on  of  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall  see  cause, 
without  dependence  upon  the  consent  of  the  Overseers  foregoing. 
Provided  always,  that  the  Corporation  shall  be  responsible  unto,  and 
those  orders  and  by-laws  shall  be  alterable  by,  the  Overseers,  ac- 
cording to  their  discretion. 


592 


HISTORY    OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX, 
No.  LXVm. 


An  Apoen- 
dix  to  the 
College 
Charter. 
1657. 


"  And  when  the  Corporation  shall  hold  a  meeting  for  agreeing 
College  servants ;  for  making  of  orders  and  by-laws ;  for  de- 
bating and  concluding  of  affairs,  concerning  the  profits  and  revenues 
of  any  lands,  or  gifts,  and  the  disposing  thereof  (provided  that  all 
the  said  disposals  be  according  to  the  will  of  the  donors)  ;  for  man- 
aging of  all  emergent  occasions,  for  the  procuring  of  a  general 
meeting  of  the  Overseers  and  Society  in  great  and  difficult  cases, 
and  in  cases  of  non-agreement;  and  for  all  other  College  affairs  to 
them  pertaining,  —  in  all  these  cases  the  conclusion  shall  be  valid, 
being  made  by  the  major  part  of  the  Corporation,  the  President 
having  a  casting  vote.  Provided  always,  that  in  these  things  also, 
they  be  responsible  to  the  Overseers,  as  aforesaid. 

"And  in  case  the  Corporation  shall  see  cause  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  Overseers,  or  the  Overseers  shall  think  good  to  meet  of  them- 
selves, it  shall  be  sufficient  unto  the  validity  of  College  acts,  that 
notice  be  given  to  the  Overseers,  in  the  six  towns  mentioned  in  the 
printed  law,  anno  1642,  when  the  rest  of  the  Overseers,  by  reason 
of  the  remoteness  of  their  habitations,  cannot  conveniently  be  ac- 
quainted therewith."—  Records  of  the  General  Court,  Vol.  IV.  p.  265. 


Intended 
charter  of 
1672. 


INTENDED  CHARTER  OF  1672. 

["  At  the  second  session  of  the  General  Court  for  elections,  held  at  Bos- 
ton, 8th  of  October,  1672,  on  their  adjournment.* 

"  Whereas,  by  the  good  hand  of  God  there  hath  been  erected  and  con- 
tinued a  College  in  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  called  by  the 
name  of 'Harvard  College,'  and  that  by  an  instrument  or  charter,  dated  the 


*  The  connexion  between  this  act  and  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Hoar,  as 
suggested  in  the  text  (p.  33),  is  established  by  the  fact,  that  the  following  vote 
immediately  precedes  that  act  on  the  records  of  the  General  Court. 

"  The  Court  having  duly  considered  of  the  motion  in  reference  to  allowance 
to  be  given  to  the  maintenance  of  a  President  at  the  College,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  what  may  give  due  encouragement  to  that  work,  do  judge  meet,  and 
order  that  there  be  allowed  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  annum,  to  be 
paid  in  money  by  the  country  Treasurer,  out  of  such  revenues  as  are  paid  in 
money  into  the  Treasury,  provided  that  Dr.  Hoar  be  the  man  for  a  stipply  of 
that  place  nmo  vacant,  and  that  he  accept  thereof.  And  that  when  this  order 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  annum  takes  place,  the  former  order  of 
one  hundred  a  year,  settled  upon  the  President  in  the  printed  law,  be  made 
void,  and  that  this  allowance  be  continued  until  the  General  Court  or  Over- 
seers shall  find  some  other  way  for  the  making  it  good,  and  that  the  annual 
allowance  be  paid  quarterly." 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


593 


3lst  of  May,  in  the  year  1650,  the  President  and  Fellows  thereof  were  APPENDIX, 
established  to  be  one  body  corporate  by  the  authority  of  this  Court.  And  No-  LXVIfl- 
whereas  several  gifts  and  donations  have  been  made,  and  are  still  making,  intended 
by  many  well-devoted  persons,  inhabitants  of  this  country,  as  also  strangers,  charter  of 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  governors  and  the  government  thereof,  and  for 
all  the  accommodations  of  the  scholars  thereof,  in  books,  buildings,  lectures, 
scholarships,  and  all  other  necessary  and  fitting  provisions,  that  may  con- 
duce to  the  education  of  English  and  Indian  youth,  there  residing  in  all 
good  literature  and  godliness.  Now,  for  the  perpetuation  and  further 
advancement  of  so  good  a  work,  and  for  the  better  encouragement  of  all 
persons  therein  concerned,  or  to  be  concerned,  it  is  ordered  and  enacted 
by  this  Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  Leonard  Hoar,  Doctor  in 
Physic,  be  the  present  President  of  said  Harvard  College,  Mr.  Samuel 
Danforth,  Fellow  of  the  said  College,  Mr.  Urian  Oakes,  Pastor  of  the 
church  of  Cambridge,  Mr.  Thomas  Shephard,  teacher  of  the  church  of 
Charlestown,  Mr.  Joseph  Browne  and  Mr.  John  Richardson,  Masters  of 
Art,  be  the  Fellows,  and  Mr.  John  Richards  the  Treasurer,  of  the  said 
College  and  Corporation,  for  the  time  being;  and  that  the  President,  Fel- 
lows, and  Treasurer  of  the  said  College,  or  the  Fellows  alone,  when  there 
is  no  President  established,  and  their  successors  from  time  to  time,  be  the 
immediate  governors  thereof,  and  shall  in  name  and  fact  for  ever  hereafter 
be  one  body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and 
shall  have  perpetual  succession,  having  power  and  authority  by  these 
presents  (procuring  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  and  by  their  counsel  and 
consent),  to  elect  successors  into  the  place  of  any  one  or  more  of  them 
which  shall  be  by  death  or  removal  made  vacant.  Be  it  also  hereby  au- 
thorized and  enacted,  that  the  said  Corporation  and  their  successors  shall 
have  the  power  of  constituting,  and  again  at  their  pleasure  removing,  all 
inferior  officers  to  the  said  society  appertaining,  —  and  all  the  next  and 
immediate  government  of  every  member  of  the  said  society  according  to 
such  orders  and  laws  as  are  or  shall  be  established  by  the  said  Corpora- 
tion ;  the  Overseers  of  the  said  College  allowing  or  not  contradicting  the 
said  laws,  upon  notice  of  them  given  to  them  at  their  next  meeting.  And, 
also  the  said  Corporation  and  their  successors  may  purchase  and  acquire  to 
themselves,  or  take  and  receive  upon  free  gift  any  lands,  tenements,  heredi- 
taments, annuities,  services,  goods,  moneys,  or  other  emoluments  whatso- 
ever, or  from  whomsoever,  and  (observing  straitly  the  will  of  the  donors) 
dispose  of  the  same  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  College  or  any  mem- 
bers thereof;  and  that  the  President  may  warn  a  general  meeting  of  the  said 
Corporation  for  debating  any  of  the  affairs  aforesaid.  In  all  which  cases 
the  conclusion  shall  be  made  by  the  major  part  present,  the  President 
having  a  casting  voice.  And  that  the  said  Corporation,  with  their  distinct 
Treasurer  (if  any  such  be  chosen)  by  the  name  of  the  President,  Fellows, 
and  Treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  may  sue  and  plead,  or  be  sued  or  im- 
pleaded  in  all  Courts  and  places  of  judicature  within  this  jurisdiction  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  in  law  and  with  effect, 

VOL.  i.  75 


594 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


Intended 
charter  of 
1672. 


APPENDIX,  as  may  any  private  person  or  body  incorporate  ;  only  the  estate  to  the 
No.LXVlir.  Corporation  belonging,  and  not  that  which  belongs  proper  to  any  member 
of  the  said  Corporation,  being  liable  to  such  impleadments ;  also  that  the 
said  Corporation,  or  any  three  of  them,  the  President  being  one,  in  all 
crimes  by  the  laws  of  this  country  punishable  by  one  magistrate,  shall 
have  the  full  power  of  sconsing,  fining,  or  otherwise  correcting,  all  inferior 
officers  or  members  to  the  said  society  belonging,  as  the  laws  of  the  country 
provide  in  such  cases,  or  the  laws  of  the  College  not  repugnant  unto  them  ; 
and  for  that  end  any  of  the  said  Corporation  shall,  and  hereby  have  power 
personally  with  such  aid  of  the  society  as  they  shall  think  meet,  taking  the 
constable  along  with  them,  to  enter  into  any  houses  licensed  for  public 
entertainment,  where  they  shall  be  informed,  or  may  be  suspicious,  of  any 
enormities  to  be  plotting  or  acting  by  any  members  of  their  society  ;  and 
all  constables  and  all  other  inferior  civil  officers  in  that  place  are  hereby  au- 
thorized and  commanded  to  be  readily  aiding  and  assisting  to  them,  or  any 
of  them  in  the  premises.  Neither  shall  any  person  or  persons  legally 
expelled  the  College,  abide  above  ten  days  in  the  township  of  Cambridge, 
unless  their  parents  live  in  the  said  township.  And  be  it  also  ordered  and 
enacted  by  this  Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  all  the  lands,  tene- 
ments, hereditaments,  or  annuities  within  this  jurisdiction,  to  the  said  Cor- 
poration appertaining,  not  exceeding  the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds  per 
annum,  shall  be  henceforth  freed  from  all  ordinary  civil  impositions,  taxes, 
and  rates,  and  all  goods  to  the  said  Corporation  or  to  any  scholars  thereof 
appertaining,  shall  be  exempted  from  all  manner  of  toll,  customs,  and  excise 
whatsoever,  except  in  cases  of  war,  or  extraordinary  exigencies  of  the 
country.  And  moreover,  that  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars, 
together  with  their  menial  servants,  and  other  necessary  officers  (not  ex- 
ceeding the  number  of  ten),  shall  be  utterly  exempted  from  all  personal 
and  civil  offices,  military  exercises,  watchings,  and  wordings,  or  the  like 
public  services.  And  the  personal  estates  of  the  said  Corporation  and  their 
officers  (not  exceeding  one  hundred  pounds  a  man)  shall  be  also  freed  from 
the  like  country  taxes  for  ever.  All  and  every  of  which  premises  we  do 
ordain  and  enact  to  be  fully  established  for  law,  any  law,  grant,  or  usage  to 
the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding."]  —  Records  of  the  General  Court, 
Vol.  IV.  p.  707. 


Charter 
proposed  in 
1692. 


CHARTER  PROPOSED  IN  1692. 

["  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 

An  act  for  incorporating  of  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge,  Neio  England. 

"  Whereas  there  hath  been  for  many  years,  in  the  town  of  Cambridge, 
in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in  New  England,  a  society  commonly  known 
by  the  name  of  Harvard  College,  where  many  persons  of  known  worth 
have,  by  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  been  the  better  fitted  for  public  em- 
ployments, both  in  the  church  and  in  the  civil  state.  And  whereas  the  due 
encouragement  of  all  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences,  will  tend  to  the 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  595 

honor  of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  Protestant  religion,  and  the  APPENDIX, 
great  benefit  of  their  Majesties'  subjects  inhabiting  this  Province,  both  in  No.LXVIII. 
the  present  and  succeeding  generations.  And  considering  that  many  per-  charter 
sons  have  bestowed  legacies,  gifts,  hereditaments,  and  revenues  on  the  said  proposed  in 
College.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  and  ordained  by  his  Excellency  the 
Governor,  Council,  and  Representatives,  of  their  Majesties'  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  convened  in  General  Assembly ; 
and  by  the  authority  thereof  it  is  enacted  and  ordained,  that  the  said  Col- 
lege, in  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in  their  Majesties'  Prov- 
ince of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  shall  be  a  Corporation 
consisting  of  ten  persons,  that  is  to  say,  a  President,  eight  Fellows,  and  a 
Treasurer,  and  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Increase  Mather  shall  be  the  first  Presi- 
dent, James  Allen,  Samuel  Willard,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Nathaniel  Gookin, 
Cotton  Mather,  John  Leveret),  William  Brattle,  Nehemiah  Walter,  Mas- 
ters of  Art,  shall  be  the  eight  Fellows,  and  John  Richards,  Esq.,  the 
Treasurer,  all  of  them  inhabitants  in  said  Province,  and  the  first  ten  persons 
whereof  the  said  Corporation  shall  consist,  which  said  Increase  Mather, 
James  Allen,  Samuel  Willard,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Nathaniel  Gookin,  Cot- 
ton Mather,  John  Leverett,  William  Brattle,  Nehemiah  Walter,  and  John 
Richards,  and  their  successors,  shall  for  ever  hereafter,  in  name  and  fact, 
be  one  body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  ;  and 
shall  have  perpetual  succession,  and  shall  be  called  by  the  name  of  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  ;  which  persons,  or  the  greater 
number  of  them,  shall  have  power  and  are  hereby  authorized  at  any  time  or 
times  to  elect  a  new  President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  so  often,  and  from  time 
to  time,  as  any  of  the  said  persons  shall  die  or  be  removed,  provided  no  such 
election  be  made  without  notice  given  in  writing  under  the  hand  of  the 
President  or  senior  Fellow  unto  the  persons  concerned,  seven  days  at  least 
before  such  election  be  made.  And  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  Treas- 
urer, and  their  successors  elective,  as  aforesaid,  shall  and  may  purchase  and 
acquire  to  themselves,  or  take  and  receive  upon  free  gift  or  donation  any 
lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments  within  the  Province  aforesaid,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  value  of  four  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and  any  goods  or 
sum  of  money  whatever  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  and  also  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  and 
may  sue  and  plead  or  be  sued  and  impleaded  by  the  name  aforesaid,  in  all 
courts  and  places  of  judicature  ;  and  that  the  said  President  and  Fellows, 
and  their  successors  may  have  for  ever  one  common  seal  to  be  used  in  all 
causes  and  occasions  of  the  said  Corporation,  and  the  same  seal  may  alter, 
change,  break,  and  new  make,  from  time  to  time,  at  their  pleasure.  And 
the  said  President  and  Fellows,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  from  time  to 
time  may  meet  and  choose  officers,  and  menial  servants  for  the  College,  and 
them  also  to  remove,  and,  after  death  or  removal,  to  choose  such  others, 
and  to  make  from  time  to  time  such  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws,  for  the 
belter  ordering  the  affairs  of  the  College,  as  ihey  shall  think  fit.  And  also, 
that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  major  part  of  them,  with  the  Treasurer, 


596  HISTORY    OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  shall  have  power  to  make  conclusive  bargains  for  lands  and  tenements  to  be 
No. LX vill.  pvirchased  by  the  said  Corporation  for  valuable  consideration.  And  for  the 
Charter  better  ordering  the  government  of  the  said  College  or  academy,  Be  it 
proposed  in  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  any 
six  of  them,  shall  and  may  from  time  to  time,  upon  due  notice  or  warning 
given  by  the  President  to  the  rest,  hold  a  meeting  for  the  debating  and 
concluding  of  affairs  concerning  the  profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands,  and 
disposing  of  their  goods,  provided,  that  all  the  said  disposals  be  according 
to  the  will  of  the  donors,  and  for  direction  in  all  emergent  occasions,  and 
the  execution  of  all  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws ;  in  all  which  cases  afore- 
said, the  conclusion  shall  be  made  by  the  President  and  major  part  of  the 
Fellows.  And  all  the  transactions  aforesaid  shall  tend  to,  and  for  the  use 
and  behoof  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars,  and  officers  of  the  said 
College  ;  and  for  all  accommodations  of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other  neces- 
sary provisions  and  furniture,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education 
of  youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences.  And  further 
be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  the  lands,  tenements,  and 
hereditaments,  houses,  or  revenues,  within  said  Province,  to  the  aforesaid 
President,  Fellows,  or  College  appertaining,  shall  from  henceforth  be  freed 
from  all  public  ordinary  rates  and  taxes  appertaining  to  the  Province  in 
general.  And  that  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars,  with  the  said 
servants,  and  other  necessary  officers  to  the  said  President  or  College  ap- 
pertaining, which  servants  and  officers  are  not  to  exceed  fifteen,  viz.  three 
to  the  President  and  twelve  to  the  College  belonging,  shall  be  exempted 
from  all  personal,  civil  offices,  military  exercises,  watchings,  and  wardings. 
And  the  estate  of  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  under  their  own  manage- 
ment, to  be  free  from  all  rates  and  taxes,  provided  they  reside  and  dwell  in 
the  College.  And  whereas  it  is  a  laudable  custom  in  Universities,  whereby 
learning  has  been  encouraged  and  advanced,  to  confer  academical  degrees  or 
titles  on  those  who  by  their  proficiency  as  to  knowledge  in  theology,  law, 
physic,  mathematics,  or  philosophy,  have  been  judged  worthy  thereof,  it  is 
hereby  enacted  and  ordained,  that  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the  said 
College  shall  have  power  from  time  to  time  to  grant  and  admit  to  academi- 
cal degrees,  as  in  the  Universities  in  England,  such  as,  in  respect  of  learning 
and  good  manners,  they  shall  find  worthy  to  be  promoted  thereunto.  And 
whereas  there  have  been  at  sundry  times  and  by  divers  persons,  gifts, 
grants,  devises  of  houses,  lands,  tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  con- 
veyances, heretofore  made  to  the  said  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge,  in 
New  England,  or  to  the  President  and  Fellows  thereof  successively,  the 
said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  and  legacies,  are  hereby  for  ever  confirmed  ac- 
cording to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  donor  or  donors,  grantor 

or  grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

"  WILLIAM  PHIPS. 

"  WILLIAM  BOND,  Speaker. 

"  Boston,  passed  June  27th,  1692,  Anno  Regis  et  Reginse  Gulielmi  et 
Mariae  quarto. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary"] 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  597 


CHARTER  PROPOSED  IN  1696.  APPENDIX, 

No.  LXVIII. 


["  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
An  act  for  incorporating  of  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge,  in  New  England,    charter 

"  Whereas  there  hath  been  for  many  years,  in  the  town  of  Cambridge,  proposed  in 
in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  within  this  his  Majesty's  Province,  a  society 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Harvard  College,  where  many  persons  of 
known  worth  have,  by  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  been  educated  and 
the  better  fitted  for  public  employments,  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  civil 
state.  And,  whereas  the  due  encouragement  of  good  literature,  arts,  and 
sciences,  will  tend  to  the  honor  of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian 
Protestant  religion,  and  the  great  benefit  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  inhabit- 
ing this  Province,  both  in  the  present  and  succeeding  generations.  And 
considering  that  many  persons  have  bestowed  legacies,  gifts,  hereditaments, 
and  revenues  on  this  said  College ; 

"  Be  it  enacted  and  ordained  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and 
Representatives,  in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  That  the  said  College,  in  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in 
his  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England  afore- 
said, shall  henceforth  be  a  Corporation  consisting  of  sixteen  persons,  that 

is  to  say,  a  President,  fourteen  Fellows,  and  a  Treasurer,  and  that 

shall  be  the  first  President,  Charles  Morton,  I 


shall  be  the  fourteen  Fellows,  and the  Trea- 
surer, all  of  them  inhabitants  in  said  Province,  and  the  first  sixteen  persons 
whereof  the  said  Corporation  shall  consist ;  which  said  — 
and  their  successors,  shall  for  ever  hereafter  in  name  and  fact  be  one  body 
politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and  shall  have 
perpetual  succession,  and  shall  be  called  by  the  name  of  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  in  New  England  ;  which  persons  shall  have 
power,  and  are  hereby  authorized,  to  elect  a  new  President,  Fellows,  and 
Treasurer,  when  and  so  often,  from  time  to  time,  as  any  of  the  said  persons 
shall  die  or  be  removed,  the  President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  or  any  of 
them,  being  removable  for  disability  or  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  displaced 
by  the  Corporation,  saving  to  the  party  grieved  his  appeal  to  the  Visitors  ; 
provided  no  such  displacing  or  new  election  be  made  without  notice  first 
given  in  writing  to  each  member  of  the  Corporation,  or  left  at  the  place  of 
his  usual  abode,  eight  days  at  least  before  the  meeting  for  such  purpose  ; 
and  nine  at  least  of  the  Corporation  shall  be  consenting  in  every  removal 
and  new  election  of  any  member  ;  —  all  elections  to  be  made  by  votes  in  writing. 

"  And  the  President  and  all  Fellows  receiving  salary  shall  dwell  and 
reside  at  the  College  ;  and  no  one  shall  enjoy  a  Fellowship  with  salary  for 
more  than  ten  years,  except  continued  by  a  new  election.  And  upon  any 
vacancy  happening  by  the  death,  removal,  or  deprivation  of  any  of  the 
Corporation,  the  same  shall  be  filled  up  by  a  new  election,  within  the  space 
of  twelve  months  next  after. 

"  And  the  President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  and  their  successors  elec- 


598  HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  tive  as  aforesaid,  shall  and  may  purchase  and  acquire  unto  themselves,  or 
NO.  LXVIII.  take  an(j  receive  Up0n  free  gift  or  donation  any  lands,  tenements,  or  heredi- 
Charter  laments,  within  the  Province  aforesaid,  not  exceeding  the  value  of  two 
thousand  pounds  per  annum,  or  any  goods  or  sum  of  money  whatsoever, 
to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  said  Harvard  College, 
and  also  for  the  encouragement  of  learning  ;  and  may  sue  and  plead,  or  be 
sued  and  impleaded  by  the  name  aforesaid  in  all  courts  and  places  of  judi- 
cature. And  that  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  and  their  successors 
may  for  ever  have  one  common  seal  of  the  said  Corporation,  and  the 
same  seal  may  alter,  change,  break,  and  new  make,  from  time  to  time,  at 
their  pleasure.  And  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  and  their  successors, 
or  the  major  part  of  them,  from  time  to  time  may  meet  and  choose  officers 
and  menial  servants  for  the  said  College,  and  them  also  remove,  and  upon 
death  or  removal  choose  such  others,  and  from  time  to  time  make  such 
statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws,  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  affairs  and 
government  of  the  said  College,  as  they  shall  think  fit ;  so  as  such  statutes, 
orders,  or  by-laws,  be  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  the  Province,  and  notice 
first  given  as  aforesaid,  for  a  general  meeting  for  that  purpose.  And  also, 
that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  major  part  of  them,  shall  have  power  to 
make  conclusive  bargains  for  lands  and  tenements  to  be  purchased  by  the 
Corporation,  for  valuable  consideration.  And  for  the  better  ordering  of  the 
government  of  the  said  College  or  academy,  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or  any  ten  of  them,  upon  due 
notice  or  warning  as  aforesaid  given  to  the  rest,  shall  and  may,  from  time 
to  time,  hold  a  meeting  for  the  debating  and  concluding  of  affairs  concern- 
ing the  profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands,  letting  and  selling  of  the  same  ; 
and  disposal  of  their  goods ;  provided  that  all  the  said  disposals  be  accord- 
•  ing  to  the  will  of  the  donors ;  and  for  direction  in  all  emergent  occasions, 
and  the  execution  of  all  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws.  In  all  which  cases 
aforesaid,  the  conclusion  shall  be  made  by  the  major  part  of  the  Corpora- 
tion. And  all  the  transactions  aforesaid  shall  tend  to  and  for  the  use  and 
behoof  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars,  and  officers  of  the  said  College, 
and  for  all  accommodations  of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other  necessary 
provisions  and  furniture,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education  of 
youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences.  And  further,  be 
it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  President,  Fellows,  and 
scholars,  as  also  the  steward  and  cook  for  the  time  being,  and  one  servant 
for  the  President,  shall  be  exempted  from  all  personal  civil  offices,  military 
exercises,  watchings,  and  wardings. 

"  And,  whereas  it  is  a  laudable  custom  in  Universities,  whereby  learning 
has  been*  encouraged  and  advanced,  to  confer  academical  degrees  or  titles 
on  those  who,  by  their  good  manners  and  proficiency  as  to  knowledge  in 
theology,  law,  physic,  mathematics,  or  philosophy,  have  been  judged  wor- 
thy thereof;  Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  the  said  College  shall  have  power,  from  time  to 
time,  to  grant  and  admit  to  academical  degrees,  as  in  the  Universities  in 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


599 


Charter 
proposed  in 
1696. 


England,  such  as  in  respect  of  learning  and  good  manners  they  shall  find  APPENDIX, 
worthy  to  be  promoted  thereunto.  And,  whereas  there  have  been  at  No.LXVUI. 
sundry  times,  and  by  divers  persons,  gifts,  grants,  devises  of  houses,  lands, 
tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  and  conveyances,  heretofore  made  unto 
the  said  College,  or  to  the  President  and  Fellows  thereof  successively,  the 
said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  legacies,  and  conveyances,  are  hereby  for  ever 
ratified  and  confirmed  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the 
donor  or  donors,  grantor  or  grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

"  And  for  the  more  assurance  of  the  well  governing  of  the  said  College, 
it  is  enacted  and  declared,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  his  Majesty's 
Governor  and  Council  of  this  Province  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  the 
Visitors,  and  have,  use,  and  exercise  the  power  of  visitation. 

"  December  15th,  1696,  read. 

"  December  16th,  read  a  second  time  and  debated. 

"  Read  a  third  time. 

"  Mr.  Increase  Mather,  President.        Mr.  John  Danforth. 


Chas.  Morton,  Vice-P  resident. 
Michael  Wigglesworth. 
James  Allen. 
Samuel  Torrey. 
Samuel  Willard. 
Nehemiah  Hobart. 
Peter  Thacher, 
"  Voted  and  approved  of,  December  17th."] 


Cotton  Mather. 
John  Leverett. 
William  Brattle. 
Nehemiah  Walter. 
Paul  Dudley. 
Benjamin  Wadsworth. 
Thomas  Brattle,  Treasurer. 


CHARTER  PROPOSED   IN  1697. 

["  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

An  act  for  incorporating  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge,  in  New  England. 

"  Whereas  there  hath  been  for  many  years,  in  the  town  of  Cambridge,  Charter 
in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  within  his  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massa-  ProP°Qef? '" 
chusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  a  society  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  Harvard  College,  where  many  persons  of  known  worth  have,  by  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God,  been  educated  and  the  better  fitted  for  public 
employment,  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  civil  state  ;  and,  whereas  due 
encouragement  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences,  will  tend  to  the  honor 
of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  Protestant  religion,  and  the  great 
benefit  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  inhabiting  this  Province,  both  in  the  present 
and  succeeding  generations  ;  and  considering  that  many  persons  have  be- 
stowed legacies,  gifts,  hereditaments,  and  revenues,  on  the  said  College  ; 

"  Be  it  enacted  and  ordained  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and 
Representatives,  in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  that  the  said  College  at  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
aforesaid,  shall  henceforth  be  a  corporation,  consisting  of  seventeen  persons ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  President,  Vice -President,  fourteen  Fellows,  and  a  Treas- 


600  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  urer.  And  that  Increase  Mather  shall  be  the  first  President,  Charles  Mor- 
Xo. LX viir.  ton>  Vice-President,  and  James  Allen,  Michael  Wigglesworth,  Samuel 
Charter  Torrey,  Samuel  Willaid,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Peter  Thacher,  John  Danforth, 
Cotton  Mather»  John  Leverett,  William  Brattle,  Nehemiah  Walter,  John 
White,  Paul  Dudley,  and  Benjamin  Wadsworth,  Masters  of  Art,  shall  be 
the  fourteen  Fellows,  and  Thomas  Brattle,  Master  of  Art,  the  Treasurer ; 
all  of  them  inhabitants  within  the  said  Province,  and  the  first  seventeen 
persons  whereof  the  said  Corporation  shall  consist ;  which  said  Increase 
Mather,  Charles  Morton,  James  Allen,  Michael  Wigglesworth,  Samuel 
Torrey,  Samuel  Willard,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Peter  Thacher,  John  Dau- 
forth,  Cotton  Mather,  John  Leverett,  William  Brattle,  Nehemiah  Walter, 
John  White,  Paul  Dudley,  Benjamin  Wadsworth,  and  Thomas  Brattle, 
and  their  successors,  shall  for  ever  hereafter  be  one  body  politic  and 
corporate  in  fact  and  name,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  in  law,  by  the 
name  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  that  by  that  name  they  shall  have  perpetual  succession,  and  by 
the  same  name  they  and  their  successors  shall  and  may  be  capable  and 
enabled  as  well  to  irnplead  as  to  be  im pleaded,  and  to  prosecute,  demand, 
and  answer,  and  be  answered  unto,  in  all  and  singular  suits,  causes,  quarrels, 
and  actions,  of  what  nature  and  kind  soever  ;  and  also  to  have,  take, 
acquire,  and  purchase,  or  receive  upon  free  gift  or  donation,  any  lands, 
tenements,  or  hereditaments,  within  the  Province  aforesaid,  not  exceeding 
the  value  of  three  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and  any  goods,  chattels, 
sum  or  sums  of  money,  whatsoever,  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said 
Corporation ;  and  the  same  to  lease,  grant,  demise,  employ  and  dispose, 
and  the  revenues,  issues,  and  profits  thereof,  for  the  encouragement  of 
learning,  and  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars,  and  officers,  of  the  said 
College,  as  also  for  accommodation  of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other 
necessary  provisions  and  furniture,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and 
education  of  youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences  ; 
provided,  that  all  the  said  disposals  be  according  to  the  will  of  the  donors. 

"  And  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  and  their  successors,  may  have 
for  ever  one  common  seal,  to  be  used  in  all  causes  and  occasions  of  the  Cor- 
poration ;  and  the  same  seal  may  alter,  change,  break,  and  new-make  from 
time  to  time,  at  their  pleasure. 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted  and  declared  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
the  said  Corporation  shall  be  and  hereby  are  authorized  and  impowered  to 
elect  a  new  President,  Vice-President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  when  and 
so  often,  from  time  to  time,  as  any  of  the  said  persons  shall  die  or  be 
removed.  The  President,  Vice-President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  or  any 
of  them  being  removable  for  disability  or  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  dis- 
placed by  the  Corporation ;  saving  to  the  party  grieved  his  appeal  to  the 
Visitors.  A  Vice-President  to  be  annually  elected,  although  not  occasioned 
by  death  or  removal,  as  aforesaid.  And  when  any  of  the  members  of  the 
said  Corporation  shall  settle  himself  without  the  bounds  of  this  Province, 
he  shall  be  ipso  facto  dismissed,  and  no  longer  continue  to  be  of  the  Cor- 
poration, and  his  place  be  supplied  by  the  election  of  a  new  member. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  601 

"  And  the  President  for  .the  time  being,  or  in  case  of  his  death  or  absence  APPENDIX, 
the  Vice-President,  shall  and  may,  from  time  to  time,  appoint  and  order  the  NO.LXVIII. 
assembling  and  meeting  together  of  the  said  Corporation  to  consult,  advise  charter 
of,  debate,  and  direct  the  affairs  and  businesses  of  the  said  Corporation,  to  proposed  in 
choose  officers  and  menial  servants  for  said  College,  and  them  also  to 
remove,  and  upon  death  or  removal  to  choose  such  others,  and  to  make 
statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws  for  the  better  ordering  the  affairs  and  govern- 
ment of  the  said  College  or  academy,  so  as  such  orders,  statutes,  and  by- 
laws, be  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  this  Province.  And  any  nine  or 
more  of  the  members  of  the  said  Corporation,  together  with  the  President 
or  Vice-President  being  so  assembled,  shall  be  taken,  held,  and  reputed  to 
be  a  full,  sufficient,  and  lawful  assembly,  for  the  handling,  ordering,  and 
directing  of  the  affairs,  businesses,  and  occurrences  of  the  said  Corporation. 
And,  in  case  of  the  death,  removal,  or  absence,  of  the  President  and  Vice- 
President,  the  senior  Fellow  for  the  time  being  may  call  and  hold  a  Corpora- 
tion meeting,  until  the  return  or  new  election  of  a  President  or  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Provided,  nevertheless,  that  no  meeting  shall  be  held  for  the  dis- 
placing or  new  election  of  any  member  or  members  of  the  Corporation, 
Fellows  of  the  House,  or  the  making  of  statutes,  orders,  or  by-laws,  for 
ordering  of  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  said  College,  without  sum- 
moning a  general  meeting  as  aforesaid,  for  such  purpose,  each  member  of 
the  Corporation  to  be  notified,  either  verbally  or  in  writing,  eight  days  at 
least  beforehand,  of  the  time  and  occasion  of  calling  such  meeting.  And 
in  the  passing  of  all  votes  and  acts  of  the  said  Corporation  in  any  of  their 
meetings,  the  determination  shall  be  made  by  the  major  part,  the  President 
to  have  a  casting  voice  in  case  of  an  equivote. 

"  And  it  is  further  declared  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that,  after  this  act 
shall  be  confirmed,  the  President,  as  well  as  all  the  Fellows  receiving  salary, 
shall  reside  at  the  College,  and  that  no  one  shall  enjoy  a  fellowship  with 
salary  for  more  than  seven  years,  except  continued  by  a  new  election.  And 
that  the  housing  and  lands  in  Cambridge  aforesaid,  belonging  to  the  said 
Corporation,  and  being  in  the  personal  occupation  of  the  President  and 
Fellows  residing  at  the  College,  shall  be  free  from  all  province  or  country 
rates  and  taxes.  And  that  the  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars,  with  the 
servants  and  necessary  officers  to  the  President  and  scholars  appertaining, 
who  shall  reside  at  or  be  constantly  employed  in  services  for  the  College 
(which  servants  and  officers  are  not  to  exceed  ten  ;  viz.  three  to  the  Presi- 
dent, and  seven  to  the  College  belonging),  shall  be  exempted  from  all 
personal  civil  offices,  military  exercises,  watchings,  and  wardings. 

"  And,  whereas  it  is  a  laudable  custom  in  Universities,  whereby  learning 
has  been  encouraged  and  advanced,  to  confer  academical  degrees  or  titles 
on  those  who,  by  their  good  manners,  and  proficiency  as  to  knowledge  in 
theology,  law,  physic,  mathematics,  or  philosophy,  have  been  judged 
worthy  thereof; 

"  Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  the  College  shall  have  power,  from  time  to  time,  to  grant  and 
admit  to  academical  degrees,  as  in  the  Universities  in  England,  such  as  in 

VOL.  i.  76 


602 


HISTORY  OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  respect  of  learning  and  good  manners  they  shall.find  worthy  to  be  promoted 

NO.LXVIII.   thereunto. 

Charter  "  And,  whereas  there  have  been  at  sundry  times  and  by  divers  persons 

proposed in  gifts,  grants,  devises,  of  houses,  lands,  tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies, 
and  conveyances,  heretofore  made  unto  the  said  College,  or  to  the  Presi- 
dent or  Fellows  thereof  successively,  the  said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  lega- 
cies, and  conveyances  are  hereby  for  ever  ratified  and  confirmed  according 
to  the  true  intent  of  the  donor  or  donors,  grantor  or  grantors,  devisor  or 
devisors. 

"  And,  in  order  to  the  preventing  of  irregularities,  and  for  the  more 
assurance  of  the  well  government  of  said  College,  we  pray  his  Majesty, 
that  it  may  be  enacted,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  and  declared,  that  his 
Majesty's  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of  this  Province,  and  the 
Council  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  the  Visitors  of  the  said  College  or 
academy,  and  shall  have,  use,  and  exercise  a  power  of  visitation  as  there 
shall  be  occasion  for  it. 

"  Read  in  Council,  26th  March,  1697.  Voted  and  passed  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  sent  down  for  concurrence. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  27th,  1697,  read  a  first  time. 
"  March  30th,  read  a  second  time. 
"Read  in  Council,  29th  March,  1697. 

"  Read  again,  March,  and  voted  in  the  affirmative,  and  sent  down 

for  concurrence. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

"  Read  in  Council,  May,  1697. 

"  Read  again,  May,  1697.     Voted  in  the  affirmative. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 
"  May  31st,  read  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
"  1697,  June  1st,  read  a  second  time  and  debated. 

"  1697,  June  2d,  read  a  third  time.  Voted  with  the  emendations.  Sent 
up  for  concurrence. 

"  PENN  TOWNSEND,  Speaker. 

"  June  2d,  1697,  voted  a  concurrence  in  Council. 

"IsA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary."] * 


Charter 


CHARTER  PROPOSED  IN  1699. 

["An  Act  for  incorporating  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge,  in  New  England. 
"  Whereas  there  hath  been  for  many  years  in  the  town  of  Cambridge,  in 
the  County  of  Middlesex,  within  his  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  in  New  England,  a  society  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
Harvard  College,  where  many  persons  of  known  worth  have,  by  the  bless- 


*  It  appears  by  the  engrossed  act,  that  on  the  4th  of  June,  1697,  it  received  the 
consent  of  William  Stoughton,  Lieutenant-Governor. 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  603 

ing  of  Almighty  God,  been  educated  and  the  better  fitted  for  public  employ-    APPENDIX, 
ments  both  in  the   church   and  in  the  civil   state;   and  whereas  due  en-   No.LXVili. 
couragement  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences,  will  tend  to  the  honor  of    Charter 
God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  Protestant  religion,   and   the   great   proposed  in 
benefit  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  inhabiting  this  Province,  both  in  the  present 
and  succeeding  generations;   and,  considering  that  many  persons  have  be- 
stowed legacies,  gifts,  hereditaments,  and  revenues,  on  said  College ; 

"  Be  it  enacted  and  ordained  by  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  Council, 
and  Representatives,  in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  same,  that  the  said  College,  in  Cambridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex, 
aforesaid,  shall  henceforth  be  a  Corporation  consisting  of  seventeen  persons, 
that  is  to  say,  a  President,  Vice-President,  and  fourteen  Fellows,  and  a 
Treasurer.  And  that  Increase  Mather  shall  be  the  first  President,  Samuel 
Willard,  Vice-President,  James  Allen,  Michael  Wigglesivorth,  Samuel 
Young,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Nicholas  Noyes,  Peter  Thacher,  John  Jlngier,  John 
Danforth,  Cotton  Mather,  John  Leverett,  William  Brattle,  Nehemiah  Walter, 
John  White,  and  Benjamin  Wadsworth,  Masters  of  Arts,  shall  be  the  four- 
teen Fellows,  and  Thomas  Brattle,  Master  of  Arts,  the  Treasurer,  all 
of  them  inhabitants  within  the  said  Province,  and  the  first  seventeen  per- 
sons, whereof  the  said  Corporation  shall  consist;  which  said  Increase 

Mather,  Samuel  Willard, and  their  successors,  shall 

for  ever  hereafter  be  one  body  politic  and  corporate,  in  fact  and  name,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  in  law,  by  the  name  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Harvard  College,  in  New  England,  and  that  by  that  name  they  shall  have 
perpetual  succession,  and  by  the  same  name  they  and  their  successors  shall 
and  may  be  capable  and  enabled  as  well  to  implead  as  to  be  impleaded,  and 
to  prosecute,  demand,  and  answer,  and  be  answered  unto,  in  all  and  singular 
suits,  causes,  quarrels,  and  actions,  of  what  nature  and  kind  soever,  and  also 
to  have,  take,  acquire,  and  purchase,  or  receive  upon  free  gift  or  donation, 
any  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  within  the  Province  aforesaid,  not 
exceeding  the  value  of  three  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and  any  goods, 
chattels,  sum  or  sums  of  money  whatsoever,  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the 
said  Corporation,  and  the  same  to  lease,  grant,  demise,  employ,  and  dispose, 
and  the  revenues,  issues,  and  profits  thereof,  for  the  encouragement  of 
learning,  and  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars,  and  officers  of  the  said 
College,  as  also  for  accommodation  of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other 
necessary  provisions  and  furniture,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and 
education  of  youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences ; 
provided,  that  all  the  said  disposals  be  according  to  the  will  of  the  donors. 
And  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  and  their  successors,  may  have  for 
ever  one  common  seal  to  be  used  in  all  causes  and  occasions  of  the  Corpo- 
ration, and  the  same  seal  may  alter,  change,  break,  and  new-make,  from 
time  to  time,  at  their  pleasure. 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted  and  declared,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
the  said  Corporation  be  and  hereby  are  impowered  and  authorized  to  elect  a 
new  President,  Vice-President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  when  and  so  often, 


604  HISTORY   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  from  time  to  time,  as  any  of  the  said  persons  shall  die  or  be  removed ;  the 
No.LXvm.  President,  Vice-President,  Fellows,  and  Treasurer,  or  any  of  them,  being 
Charter  removable  for  disability  or  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  displaced  by  the  Cor- 
poration, saving  to  the  party  grieved  his  appeal  to  the  Visitors.  A  Vice- 
President  to  be  annually  elected,  although  not  occasioned  by  death  or 
removal,  as  aforesaid. 

(Provided,  that  no  person  shall  be  chosen,  and  continued  President, 
Vice-President,  or  Fellow,  of  said  Corporation,  but  such  as  shall  declare 
Dele,  and  continue  their  adherence  unto  the  principles  of  Reformation,  which 
were  espoused  and  intended  by  those  who  first  settled  this  country,  and 
founded  the  College,  and  have  hitherto  been  the  profession  and  practice 
of  the  generality  of  the  churches  of  Christ  in  ]\tw  England.) 
"  And  when  any  of  the  members  of  the  said  Corporation  shall  settle 
himself  without  the  bounds  of  this  Province,  he  shall  be  ipso  facto  dismissed, 
and  no  longer  continue  to  be  of  the  Corporation,  and  his  place  be  supplied 
with  the  election  of  a  new  member.  And  the  President  for  the  time  being, 
or,  in  case  of  his  death  or  absence,  the  Vice-President,  shall  and  may,  from 
time  to  time,  appoint  and  order  the  assembling  and  meeting  together  of  the 
said  Corporation,  to  consult,  advise,  debate,  and  direct  the  affairs  and 
businesses  of  the  said  Corporation,  to  choose  officers  and  menial  servants  for 
the  said  College,  and  them  also  to  remove,  and  upon  death  or  removal  to 
choose  such  others,  and  to  make  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws,  for  the 
better  ordering  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  said  College  or  academy, 
so  as  such  orders,  statutes,  and  by-laws  be  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
this  Province;  and  any  seven  or  more  members  of  the  said  Corporation, 
together  with  the  President  or  Vice-President,  being  so  assembled,  shall  be 
taken,  held,  and  reputed  to  be  a  full,  sufficient,  and  lawful  assembly,  for  the 
handling,  ordering,  and  directing  of  the  affairs,  businesses,  and  occurrences 
of  said  Corporation  ;  and,  in  case  of  the  death,  removal,  or  absence  of  the 
President  and  Vice-President,  the  senior  Fellow  for  the  time  being  may  call 
and  hold  a  Corporation  meeting  until  the  return  or  new  election  of  a  Presi- 
dent or  Vice-President.  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  no  meeting  shall  be 
held  for  the  displacing  or  new  election  of  any  member  or  members  of  the 
Corporation,  Fellows  of  the  House,  or  the  making  of  statutes,  orders,  or 
by-laws,  for  ordering  of  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  College,  without 
summoning  a  general  meeting  as  aforesaid  for  such  purpose,  each  member 
of  the  Corporation,  to  be  notified,  either  verbally  or  in  writing,  eight  days  at 
least  beforehand,  of  the  time  and  occasion  of  calling  such  meeting;  and  in 
the  passing  of  all  votes  and  acts  of  the  said  Corporation  in  any  of  their 
meetings,  the  determination  shall  be  made  by  the  major  part,  the  President 
to  have  a  casting  vote  in  case  of  an  equivote. 

"  And  it  is  further  declared,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that,  after  this  act 
shall  be  confirmed,  the  President,  as  well  as  all  the  Fellows  receiving  salary, 
shall  reside  at  the  College,  and  that  no  one  shall  enjoy  a  fellowship  with 
salary  for  more  than  seven  years,  except  continued  by  a  new  election,  and 
that  the  housing  and  lands  in  Cambridge  aforesaid,  belonging  to  the  said 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  605 

Corporation,  and  being  in  the  personal  occupation  of  the  President  and    APPENDIX, 
Fellows  residing  at  the  College,  shall  be  free  from  all  Province  or  country    No.  LXVIII. 
rates  and   taxes,  and  the  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars,  with  the  ser-    charter 
vants  and  necessary  officers  to  the  President  and  scholars  appertaining,  who    proposed  in 
shall  reside,  or  be  constantly  employed  in  services  for  the  College,  (which 
servants  and  officers  are  not  to  exceed  ten,  viz.  three  to  the  President  and 
seven  to  the  College  belonging,)  shall  be  exempted  from  all  personal  civil 
offices,  military  exercises,  watchings,  and  wardings. 

"  And,  whereas  it  is  a  laudable  custom  in  Universities,  whereby  learning 
hath  been  encouraged  and  advanced,  to  confer  academical  degrees  or  titles 
on  those,  who,  by  their  good  manners  and  proficiency  as  to  knowledge  in 
Theology,  Law,  Physic,  Mathematics,  or  Philosophy,  have  been  judged 
worthy  thereof;  Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  the  said  College  shall  have  power  from  time  to 
time  to  grant  and  admit  to  academical  degrees,  as  in  the  Universities  in 
England,  such  as  in  respect  of  learning  and  good  manners  they  shall  find 
worthy  to  be  promoted  thereunto. 

"  And,  whereas  there  have  been  at  sundry  times  and  by  divers  persons, 
gifts,  grants,  devises  of  houses,  land,  tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies, 
and  conveyances  heretofore  made  unto  the  said  College,  or  to  the  President 
and  Fellows  thereof  successively ,  the  said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  legacies, 
and  conveyances  are  hereby  ratified  and  confirmed  according  to  the  true 
intent  of  the  donor  or  donors,  grantor  or  grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

"  And,  in  order  to  the  preventing  of  irregularities,  and  for  the  more  as- 
surance of  the  well  government  of  said  College,  a  power  of  visitation  is 
hereby  reserved  to  his  Majesty,  and  his  Governor  or  Commander-in-chief  for 
the  time  being  of  this  Province. 

"July  8th,  1699.  Read  a  first  time  and  a  second  time.  Read  a  third 
time  and  passed,  &c. 

"  Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

"  JAMES  CONVERSE,  Speaker.* 

"  July  llth,  1699.     In  Council  read  a  first  time. 

"  July  12th.  Read  a  second  time,  and  committed  to  a  Committee  of  the 
whole  board. 

"  July  13th.     This  bill  was  passed  as  amended  below. 

"July  18th,  1699.  The  Governor  (Bellamont)  objected  to  the  bill  on 
account  of  the  clause  marked  Dele,  and,  the  Council  adhering,  the  bill  was 
lost."  —  See  General  Court  Records. 

"July  13th,  1699. 

"  Amendments  to  the  College  Bill  proposed  and  agreed  to  by  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  whole  Board. 

"  The  words,  and  a  Treasurer,  to  be  left  out  in  the  Constitution. 
"The  members  of  the  Corporation  to  continue  seventeen. 

*  The  words  printed  in  Italics  were  contained  in  the  original  draft,  and  were 
either  erasod,  or  proposed  to  be  expunged  prior  to  the  final  passage  of  the  bill. 


606  HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,       "  The  two  senior  Tutors  resident  at  the  College  from  time  to  time  to  be 
.Vo.LXVlii.   Fellows  of  the  Corporation. 

Charter  "  A.  Vice-President  to  be  annually  elected  on  the  day  of  Commencement, 

proposed  in   from  time  to  time. 
1699 

"  Instead  of  the  word  settle  the  word  remove  to  be  inserted,  so  as  to  be 

absent  out  of  the  Province  by  the  space  of  one  whole  year. 

"  Upon  the  death  or  dismission  of  the  President,  Vice-President,  or  any 
of  the  Fellows,  such  vacancy  to  be  filled  up  within  three  months  next  after. 
"  The  word  verbally,  in  the  notification  of  Corporation  meetings,  to  be  left 
out. 

"  The  word  domestic  to  be  added  to  servants,  and  the  words  and  necessary 
officers  to  the  President  and  scholars  appertaining,  who  shall  reside  at  or  be 
constantly  employed  in  services  for  the  College,  to  be  expunged,  and  the  num- 
ber of  servants  to  be  left  out. 

"  In  the  paragraph  about  gifts,  grants,  &c.,  the  words  at  sundry  times 
and  by  divers  persons  to  be  expunged,  and  the  words  heretofore  and  divers  to 
be  inserted  next  foregoing  the  word  gifts. 

"  The  words  after  this  act  shall  be  confirmed  to  be  expunged. 
"  Members  of  the  Corporation. 

"  Mr.  Increase  Mather,  President. 

Samuel  Willard,  Vice-President. 
William  Stoughton, 
Wait  Winthrop, 
Elisha  Cooke,  Esq. 
Samuel  Sewall, 
Isaac  Addington, 
Mr.  James  Allen, 


Michael  Wigglesworth, 


Fellows, 


Samuel  Torrey, 
Nehemiah  Hobart, 
John  Danforth, 
Cotton  Mather, 
William  Brattle, 
Nehemiah  Walter, 
with  the  two  senior  Tutors  resident  at  the  College  for  the  time  being. 

"  That  there  be  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Corporation  at  the  College  on 
the  first  Wednesday  in  September,  the  first  Monday  in  December,  March, 
and  June,  from  time  to  time  in  every  year  successively. 

"  And,  whereas  five  of  the  members  of  the  Council  are  nominated  and 
appointed  by  the  present  Constitution  to  be  Fellows  of  the  Corporation, 
when  it  happens  that  any  of  them  die  or  be  otherwise  removed  or  dismissed, 
such  vacancy  to  be  filled  up  out  of  the  Council  from  time  to  time. 

"  That  there  be  eight  or  more  members  of  the  Corporation,  together  with 
the  President  or  Vice-President,  to  constitute  a  Corporation  meeting. 
"  Agreed,  and  voted  that  a  bill  be  drawn  accordingly. 

"JAMES  CONVERSE,  Speaker. 

"  And,  whereas  the  first  planters  of  this  country,  and  founders  of  this 
College,  were,  as  to  their  persuasion  in  matters  of  religion,  such  as  are 
known  by  the  name  of  Congregational  or  Presbyterian,  and  the  general 
profession  and  practice  of  the  churches  throughout  this  land  hath  been  and 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY.  607 

is  according  thereunto,  and  the  College  being  intended  as  a  nursery  to  these    APPENDIX, 
churches,  It  is  enacted,  that  no  one  shall  be  the  President,  Vice-President,    N°-LXVIH. 
or  a  Fellow  of  said  Corporation,  but  such  as  shall  declare  themselves,  and 
continue  to  be,  of  the  said  persuasion  in  matter  of  religion. 

"  Agreed  to  be  inserted. 

"  Agreed. 

"JAMES  CONVERSE,  Speaker-. "] 


CHARTER  PROPOSED  IN  1700. 

["July  12th,  1700.  Charter 

"  Draught  of a  Charter  of  Incorporation  for  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge, 

in  New  England,  agreed  to  Inj  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of 

his  Majesty"1  s  Province  of  tJie  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  be  humbly  solicited  for 

to  his  Majesty. 

"  William  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland  King,  Defender  of  the  Failh,  &c.,  to  all  unto  whom  these  pres- 
ents shall  come,  greeting.  Whereas  there  hath  been  for  many  years  in 
the  town  of  Cambridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  within  our  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  in  America,  a  Society  com- 
monly known  by  the  name  of  Harvard  College,  where  many  persons  of 
known  worth  have,  by  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  been  educated,  and 
the  better  fitted  for  public  employments  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  civil 
state,  and  whereas  due  encouragement  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences, 
will  tend  to  the  honor  of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  Protestant 
religion,  and  the  great  benefit  of  our  subjects  inhabiting  within  our  Province 
aforesaid,  both  in  the  present  and  succeeding  generations;  and  whereas 
the  Governor,  Council,  and  Assembly,  of  our  said  Province  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  in  New  England,  by  their  humble  address  have  supplicated 
our  royal  grace  and  favor  in  the  settlement  of  the  aforesaid  College,  that  it 
may  be  done  in  such  manner  as  may  effectually  secure  the  same  to  be  a 
nursery  for  the  supplying  the  churches  in  our  said  Province  with  able, 
learned  ministers,  agreeable  to  the  chief  end  and  intent  of  the  first  founders 
of  said  College  ; 

"  We  therefore,  being  graciously  pleased  to  gratify  our  said  subjects,  of 
our  special  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion,  have  willed  and 
ordained,  and  we  do  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors, 
will  and  ordain,  that  the  said  College  in  Cambridge,  in  the  County  of  Mid- 
dlesex, within  our  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England 
aforesaid,  shall  henceforth  be  a  Corporation  consisting  of  seventeen  persons, 
that  is  to  say,  a  President,  Vice-President,  and  fifteen  Fellows,  and  that 
Increase  Mather  shall  be  the  first  President,  Samuel  Willard,  Vice-President, 
James  Allen,  Michael  Wigglesworth,  Samuel  Torrey.  Nehemiah  Hobart, 
Peter  Thacher,  Samuel  Angier,  John  Danforth,  Cotton  Mather,  Nehemiah 
Walter,  Henry  Gibbs,  John  White,  Jonathan  Pierpont,  and  Benjamin  Wads- 
worth,  Masters  of  Art,  and  all  of  them  inhabitants  of  our  Province  of  the 


608  HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

APPENDIX,  Massachusetts  Bay  aforesaid,  together  with  the  two  senior  Tutors  resident 
No.  LXVIII.  at  tne  saj(j  College  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  the  fifteen  Fellows,  and  the 
Charter  first  seventeen  persons  whereof  the  said  Corporation  shall  consist.  Which 
'"  Said  Increase  Matner>  Samuel  Willard,  James  Allen,  Michael  Wigglesworth, 
Samuel  Torrey,  Nehemiah  Hobart,  Peter  Thacher,  Samuel  Angierx  John 
Danforth,  Cotton  Mather,  Nehemiah  Walter,  Henry  Gibbs,  John  White, 
Jonathan  Pierpont,  Benjamin  Wadsworth,  and  the  two  senior  Tutors  re- 
siding at  the  College  for  the  time  being,  and  their  successors,  shall  for  ever 
hereafter  be  one  body  politic  and  corporate,  in  fact  and  name,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  in  law,  by  the  name  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  at  Cambridge,  in  New  England,  and  that  by  that  name  they  shall 
have  perpetual  succession,  and  by  the  same  name  they  and  their  successors 
shall  and  may  be  capable  and  enabled  as  well  to  implead  as  to  be  impleaded, 
and  to  prosecute,  demand,  and  answer,  and  be  answered  unto  in  all  and 
singular  suits,  causes,  quarrels,  and  actions,  of  what  nature  and  kind  soever; 
and  also  to  have,  take,  acquire,  and  purchase,  or  receive  upon  free  gift  or 
donation,  any  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  not  exceeding  the  value 
of  three  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and  any  goods,  chattels,  sum  or  sums 
of  money,  whatsoever,  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  Corporation  ;  and 
the  same  to  lease,  grant,  devise,  employ,  and  dispose,  with  the  revenues, 
issues,  and  profits,  thereof,  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  and  of  the 
President,  Fellows,  scholars,  and  officers  of  the  said  College  ;  as  also  for 
accommodation  of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other  necessary  provisions  and 
furniture,  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education  of  youth  in  all 
manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences.  Provided,  always,  that  all 
the  said  disposals  be  according  to  the  will  of  the  donors.  And  we  do  further 
grant  and  ordain,  that  the  said  President  and  Fellows,  and  their  successors, 
may  have  for  ever  one  common  seal,  to  be  used  in  all  causes  and  occasions 
of  the  said  Corporation ;  and  the  same  seal  may  alter,  change,  break,  and 
new-make  from  time  to  time  at  their  pleasure. 

"  And  further,  we  do  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  grant,  establish, 
and  ordain,  that  the  President,  Vice-President,  and  the  Fellows  of  the  said 
Corporation,  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  removable,  and  may  be  displaced,  by 
the  said  Corporation  for  disability,  or  misdemeanor,  saving  to  the  party 
grieved  his  appeal  to  the  Visitors.  And  that  when  and  so  often  from  time  to 
time  as  any  of  the  said  Corporation  shall  die  or  be  removed,  the  said  Corpo- 
ration  shall  be  and  is  hereby  impowered  and  authorized  to  elect  a  new  Pres- 
ident, Vice-President,  or  Fellows,  in  the  room  and  stead  of  such  member  or 
members  of  the  Corporation  so  dying  or  removed.  And  that  a  Vice-Pres- 
ident of  the  said  Corporation  be  annually  elected  upon  the  Commencement 
day  from  time  to  time,  although  not  occasioned  by  death  or  removal  as 
aforesaid.  And  we  do  further,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  will  and 
establish,  that,  when  and  so  often  as  any  Fellow  of  the  said  Corporation  shall 
remove  himself  so  as  to  be  absent  out  of  our  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  aforesaid  by  the  space  of  one  whole  year  without  leave  of  the  Corpo- 
ration, he  shall  ipso  facto  be  dismissed,  and  no  longer  continue  to  be  of  the 
Corporation,  and  his  place  shall  be  supplied  with  the  election  of  a  new  mem- 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  609 

ber.  And  that  upon  the  death,  or  removal  and  dismission,  of  the  President,  APPENDIX, 
Vice-President,  or  any  of  the  Fellows,  such  vacancy  shall  be  filled  up  within  No-  J--XVIIL 
the  space  of  three  months  next  after.  And  further,  we  do,  by  these  pres-  charter 
ents,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  grant,  establish,  and  ordain,  that  the  proposed  in 
President  for  the  time  being,  of  the  said  Corporation,  and  in  case  of  his  death 
or  absence,  the  Vice-President  for  the  time  being,  of  the  same,  shall  and  may 
from  time  to  time  appoint  and  order  the  assembling  and  meeting  together 
of  the  said  Corporation  to  consult,  advise  of,  debate,  and  direct  the  affairs 
and  businesses  of  the  said  Corporation,  to  choose  officers  and  menial  ser- 
vants for  the  said  College,  and  them  also  to  remove,  and  upon  death  or 
removal  to  choose  such  others,  and  to  make  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws, 
for  the  better  ordering  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  College  or  Acad- 
emy, so  as  such  orders,  statutes,  and  by-laws  be  not  repugnant  to  the  laws 
of  our  said  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  And  that  any  ten  or  more 
of  the  members  of  the  said  Corporation,  whereof  the  President  or  Vice- 
President  to  be  one,  being  so  assembled,  shall  be  taken,  held,  and  reputed 
to  be  a  full,  sufficient,  and  lawful  assembly,  for  the  handling,  ordering,  and 
directing  of  the  affairs,  businesses,  and  occurrences  of  the  said  Corporation. 
And  that,  in  case  of  the  death,  removal,  or  absence  of  the  President  and 
Vice-President,  the  senior  Fellow,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  said  Corpora- 
tion, may  call  and  hold  a  Corporation  meeting  until  the  return  or  new  elec- 
tion of  a  President  or  Vice-President.  Provided,  nevertheless,  and  our  will 
and  pleasure  is,  that  no  meeting  shall  be  held  for  the  displacing  or  new 
election  of  any  member  or  members  of  the  said  Corporation,  for  the  appoint- 
ing of  Tutors,  for  the  making  of  statutes,  orders,  and  by-laws  for  ordering 
of  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  said  College,  or  for  the  purchasing, 
selling,  or  letting  of  lands  and  tenements,  or  disposal  of  the  stock  or 
revenues  belonging  to  the  said  College,  without  summoning  and  notifying 
each  member  of  the  said  Corporation,  in  writing,  of  the  time  and  occasion  of 
calling  such  meeting  eight  days  at  least  beforehand.  And  our  further  will 
and  pleasure  is,  that  in  the  passing  of  all  votes  and  acts  of  the  said  Corpo- 
ration in  any  of  the  meetings  thereof,  the  determination  shall  be  made  by 
the  major  part  of  those  assembled,  and  that  the  said  President  have  a  cast- 
ing vote  in  case  of  an  equivote.  And  also,  that  there  shall  be  held  and 
kept  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  said  Corporation  at  the  College  aforesaid 
on  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  June,  September,  and  December,  from 
time  to  time  in  every  year  successively.  And  we  do  by  these  presents,  for 
us,  cur  heirs,  and  successors,  further  grant,  establish,  and  ordain,  that  the 
President  of  the  said  Corporation,  as  also  the  Fellows  and  Tutors  thereof 
receiving  salary,  shall  reside  at  the  College  aforesaid,  and  that  no  one  shall 
enjoy  a  fellowship,  or  a  tutorship,  with  a  salary,  for  more  than  seven  years, 
unless  continued  by  a  new  election.  And  that  the  housing  and  lands  in 
Cambridge  aforesaid,  belonging  to  the  said  Corporation,  and  being  in  the 
personal  occupation  of  the  President  and  Fellows  residing  at  the  said  Col- 
lege, shall  be  exempt  and  free  from  all  rates  and  taxes.  And  likewise  that 
the  President,  and  resident  Fellows,  with  their  domestic  servants,  shall  be 

VOL.  i.  77 


610 


HISTORY  OF  HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,   exempted  from  all  personal  civil  offices,  military  exercises,  watchings,  and 
No.LXVlll.    wardings. 


Charter 


"  And,  whereas  it  is  a  laudable  custom  in  Universities,  whereby  learning 
hath  been  encouraged  and  advanced,  to  confer  academical  degrees  or  titles  on 
those,  who,  by  their  good  manners  or  proficiency  as  to  knowledge  in  Theol- 
ogy, Law,  Physic,  Mathematics,  or  Philosophy,  have  been  judged  worthy 
thereof;  We  do  therefore  further,  by  these  presents,  grant  and  ordain, 
that  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the  aforesaid  Corporation  shall  have 
power,  from  time  to  time,  to  grant  and  admit  to  academical  degrees,  as  in 
the  Universities  in  our  kingdom  of  England,  such  as  in  respect  of  learning 
and  good  manners  they  shall  find  worthy  to  be  promoted  thereunto. 

"  And,  whereas  there  have  been  heretofore  divers  gifts,  grants,  devises 
of  houses,  lands,  tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  and  conveyances 
made  unto  the  aforesaid  College,  or  to  the  President  and  Fellows  thereof, 
successively,  we  do  hereby,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ratify  and  con- 
firm the  said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  legacies,  conveyances,  each  and  every 
of  them,  according  to  the  true  intent  of  the  donor  or  donors,  grantor  or 
grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

"  And,  for  preventing  of  irregularity  in  the  government  of  the  said  Col- 
lege, we  do  hereby  reserve  a  power  of  visitation  thereof  in  ourself,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  by  our  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief,  together  with  our 
Council,  for  the  time  being,  of  our  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  afore- 
said, to  be  exercised  by  our  Governor  or  Commander-in-chief,  and  Council, 
when  and  so  often  as  they  shall  see  cause. 

"July  10th,  1700. 

"  In  Council,  read  a  first  and  second  time,  and,  the  question  being  put, 
was  agreed  to. 

"  Sent  down  for  concurrence.  ISAAC  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

"  July  10th,  1700.    Read  a  first  time  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
"  July  llth,  Read  a  second  time.     And  a  third  time  July  12th. 

"  Voted  a  concurrence. 

"  JOHN  LEVERETT,  Speaker.'']* 


*  The  following  documents,  in  addition  to  those  before  published  in  this 
Appendix,  pp.  503,  504,  contain  all  the  proceedings  antecedent  to  the  passing 
of  the  final  Resolve. 

["  In  Council,  llth  November,  1707. 

"  Upon  reading  an  humble  address  of  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  in 
Cambridge,  respecting  their  choice  of  Mr.  John  Leverett  to  be  the  present 
President  of  said  College,  and  recommending  him  to  his  Excellency's  favor- 
able acceptation,  withal  praying  that  he  would  please  to  present  him  to  the 
General  Assembly  and  move  for  his  honorable  subsistence:  the  aforesaid  ad- 
dress being  also  accompanied  with  addresses  from  thirty-nine  ministers ; 

"  Voted,  That  the  said  election  be  accepted,  and  that  Mr.  Leverett  be  desired 


HISTORY   OF   HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  611 

FINAL  RESOLVE  OF  THE  PROVINCIAL  LEGISLATURE,  DECLAR-    APPENDIX, 
ING  THE  COLLEGE  CHARTER  OF  1650  NOT  REPEALED,  AND    No.  LXVIIL 
DIRECTING  THE   PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOWS   OF  THE  COL- 
LEGE TO  EXERCISE  THE   POWERS   GRANTED   BY  IT. 

Anno  Regni  Annae  Reginae  Sexto.       Resolve  of 

"At  a  Great  and  General  Court  or  Assembly  for  her  Majesty's      '70'- 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  begun  and 
held  at  Boston,  upon  Wednesday  the  twenty-eighth  of  May,  1707; 
and  continued  by  several  prorogations  unto  Wednesday  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  October  following,  being  the  third  session. 

"  In  Council,  Thursday,  December  4th,  1707. 

"  The  Governor  and  Council,  having  accepted  and  approved  the 
choice  made  by  the  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge,  of 
Mr.  John  Leverett,  to  be  present  President  of  the  said  College,  to 
fill  up  that  vacancy, 

"Propose,  that  the  House  of  Representatives  consider  of  and 
grant  a  suitable  salary  to  be  paid  to  the  said  President  annually,  out 
of  the  public  Treasury,  for  his  encouragement  and  support,  during 
his  continuance  in  said  office,  residing  at  Cambridge,  and  discharg- 
ing the  proper  duties  to  a  President  belonging,  and  entirely  devoting 
himself  to  that  service. 

"  And  inasmuch  as  the  first  foundation  and  establishment  of  that 


and  empowered  to  take  the  care  and  government  of  the  College,  as  President 
accordingly. 
"  Sent  down  for  concurrence.  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary, 

"  November  28th.  1707.    Read  and  concurred. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  November  29th,  1707. 

"  Voted,  That  a  message  be  sent  up  to  the  Board,  moving  them  to  join  with 
this  House  in  choosing  a  suitable  person  to  take  care  of  the  College  until  the 
session  of  this  Court  in  May  next.  JOHN  BURRILL,  Speaker. 

"  Die  predict    Read  in  Council.  December  3.  Again  read  and  not  concurred. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

li  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  2d,  1707. 

"  Resolved.  That  the  vote  of  this  Court  passed  in  July,  1700,  in  the  words  fol- 
lowing, viz.  Resolved,  that  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  per 
annum  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  public  Treasury  to  the  President  already 
chosen,  or  that  shall  be  chosen  by  this  Court,  he  residing  at  the  College,  had 
respect  only  to  the  choice  then  made  or  making,  and  has  had  its  full  effect,  and 
is  now  of  no  further  power  or  efficacy,  but  for  ever  void. 

"  Sent  up  for  concurrence.  JOHN  BURRILL,  Speaker. 

"  In  Council,  December  4th,  1707.  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary."] 


612 


HISTORY   OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


APPENDIX,  House  and  the  government  thereof  hath  its  original  from  an  act  of 
.'  the  General  Court,  made  and  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  six 


Resolve  of 
1707. 


hundred  and  fifty,  which  has  not  been  repealed  or  nulled ; 

"  The  President  and  Fellows  of  the  said  College  are  directed  from 
time  to  time  to  regulate  themselves  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
Constitution  by  the  said  act  prescribed  ;  and  to  exercise  the  powers 
and  authority  thereby  granted  for  the  government  of  that  House 
and  support  thereof. 

"Voted. 

"  Sent  down  for  concurrence.          ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  5th,  1707.  Read 
and  concurred,  and  voted,  that  the  sum  for  salary  be  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  JOHN  BURRILL,  Speaker. 

"  Agreed  to  in  Council,  6th  December,  1707. 

"  ISA.  ADDINGTON,  Secretary. 

"  Consented  to,        J.  DUDLEY." 


END  OF  VOLUME  I. 


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